the cooks we are

How to Eat Your Greens. All of them.

2012-01-19T20:21:00.007-06:00

I have this theory that at some point in every successful gardening season, supply far exceeds demand. I only have a few successful veggie-growing seasons under my belt, so it's a half-baked theory, but so far it's held true. When you're eating chard with every meal and baking with zucchini, you realize pretty quickly that one can have too much of a good thing. (First world problems, I know!)

As of last week, my fall/winter garden has reached that tipping point. In my three small garden beds I now have a sea of greens--soft, leafy lettuces, red russian kale, curly spinach, bok choy, the list goes on... It fills me with both extreme pride and sweaty anxiety. My inner gardener (and spendthrift) fears nothing more than good food gone uneaten, tender lettuces left to bolt or once-crisp radishes turned tough and woody. No longer am I harvesting a few leaves here, a stem or two there but am hastily clear cutting, filling bags with arugula, lettuce, mesclun mix, parsley and cilantro, and pawning them off on friends. It's exhausting but also exhilarating to know that with a little space, time, energy, and a lot of good luck weather-wise, I can be one heck of a gardener!

But I'm not just writing to brag about how productive my garden is. I mostly wanted to share a few recipes that have helped me handle this overabundance of fragile leafy greens, and to ask for your suggestions too. What would you do with a bonanza of mesclun mix? A robust row of tender leaf lettuces that will soon be past their prime? And what about chard? Always a winner in my garden, I cook chard many different ways (including the recipe below) but would love to shake things up a little. I welcome your recipe ideas and invite you to come on over and share in the harvest!

Arugula Pesto

I really like arugula--in salads, on sandwiches, on top of pasta and pizza--but I have an entire row of it in my garden getting more mature (and spicy) as every day passes. This recipe turns the perishable green into something with a shelf life, either in the fridge or freezer. It's actually a little milder than the typical basil pesto, and is delicious on pasta (shown). I also plan to try it out as a sandwich spread and mixed into sour cream or greek yogurt for a dip. I eyeballed all my measurements so listen to your own taste buds when making this and adjust any way you'd like. For extra pizzaz, I might try adding a little anchovy next time, and/or some hot chile pepper flakes or fresh jalapeno.

2 huge handfuls of arugula (probably two bunches from the grocery store)

1 small bunch of italian parsley

1 small bunch of cilantro

1/4 to 1/2 cup pine nuts (or walnuts or pecans)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tablespoon kosher salt (or to taste)

Wash and dry all the greens, discarding any really big stems. Pulse cheese in food processor until it's a pretty fine crumb. Add garlic, pulsing until a paste forms. Add remaining ingredients, pulsing until it reaches the consistency you like. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed. Will keep, covered in the fridge, for at least a week and for months in the freezer.

Garlicky Greens with Rosemary, Currants, and Walnuts

The lovely Lily (who you might remember from my post long ago about fried green tomatoes) made me these greens for dinner last night. I've loved the classic Italian combo of greens and currants for a long time, but it never dawned on me that it would be much more delicious with the simple addition of fresh rosemary. I liked it so much I made it again for dinner tonight, using chard from my garden instead of the dino kale Lily used (my garden kale does not yet urgently require harvesting but I look forward to using it this way when it is). Great as a side to meat or fish and also good on pasta or a goat cheese tartine (open-faced sandwich). Makes about 3-4 generous side-dish servings.

1 bunch chard or kale (I prefer dinosaur kale, aka lacinato kale), washed, coarsely chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, diced (I prefer 2 but I like lots of garlic)

1/4 cup dried currants (I like lots of currants so use more)

2-3 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh rosemary

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped (or pinenuts)

1/4 cup italian parsley, chopped

grated parmesan to taste

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add greens stems and saute for a minute or two. Toss in the rosemary, garlic, and currants, give a stir and then add the remaining leafy portions of the greens. Saute, stirring frequently, for several more minutes, until the greens are crisp-tender. Serve garnished with grated cheese, toasted nuts, and parsley.

Sweet Sweet Potatoes

2011-11-10T19:22:00.006-06:00

See that photo there? That's a picture of a meal I made (and ate) sometime in early September.* I have an embarrassing stash of similar photos--pictures of meals gone by, snapped hurriedly just before digging in, on the off chance that I might want to write about them someday. Usually they end up gathering cobwebs in iphoto, never to see the light of day. But not this one. This one lives again because I want to tell you about something special, something delicious, something you see right there in the lower left corner of the frame.

This very special thing, my friends, is a sweet potato. Now I don't know about you but I've always felt kind of meh about sweet potatoes. Sure, I like sweet potato fries or sweet potato biscuits as much as the next girl, but faced with a baked sweet potato on my plate right there next to the meatloaf (or tofu), seasonally appropriate superfood or not, I lose enthusiasm. Even gussied up with a generous pat of butter and maybe a shake or two of cinnamon, they're just so...sweet. Endlessly, monotonously sweet. Don't get me wrong, sweet is good, but I guess I tend to think it's best when tempered with a bit of savory. I like contrast.

To my very great delight, I recently stumbled upon a recipe from an old Gourmet that has turned the sigh-inducing baked sweet potato into something I crave. They call it Japanese Sweet Potatoes and really, it's so simple, it's more of a treatment than a recipe. All you need are some sweet potatoes, some butter, a bit of miso, and some green onions or chives and you're set. Even better, it can be scaled up to feed a crowd or down to feed your lone (but awesome) party of one as needed. So eat your potatoes, my sweets, they're good for ya!

*And those are Ciel's Spicy Chickpeas! Kale salad recipe coming soon...

Japanese Sweet Potatoes

Gourmet, 2007

8 small sweet potatoes (4-5 lbs total)

1 1/2 stick unsalted butter, well softened

1 1/2 tablespoons miso paste (preferably white)

3 Tablespoons finely chopped scallion (or chives)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F with rack in upper third of oven.

Prick potatoes all over with a fork, place on foil-lined baking sheet and bake until very soft, 45 mins to an hour.

While potatoes cook, stir together remaining ingredients until combined, reserving a few of teh scallions.

When ready, slice hot potatoes lengthwise and squeeze from each end to open and puff them up a bit. Spoon the seasoned butter into the center and serve garnished with a sprinkle of scallions.

Pasta Salad with Arugula, Tuna, and Corn

2011-08-16T19:38:00.003-05:00

When I studied abroad in Florence, Italy for a semester during college, I ate lunch at the same place almost every day. I'd avoid the mediocre offerings and clique-ish scene at the college's little in-house cafe and instead venture to a little coffee shop and bar about a block and a half away. If I ever knew the name of this place it's long forgotten now, but I will never forget the courage I had to muster to place my order in Italian, choosing a sandwich from the offerings behind a small glass case, and later when I had a better command of the language, from the daily menu written on a chalkboard. I will always remember, and continue to crave even now a decade later, the delicious sandwiches that were my reward.

Incredibly tiny by American standards, this little shop run by two middle-aged sisters and their elderly father was usually packed with locals and students, young and old. I would place my order with one of the sisters, and the other would compose the sandwich on a small, perfectly crusty loaf of bread baked in-house. Their white-haired father ran the bar, pulling espresso and liquor shots, and he also served as cashier. While I occasionally ventured to try one of the daily offerings--grilled eggplant and cheese being a favorite--I was committed, mostly, to the tuna sandwich.

Simple and unfussy with only a few ingredients, this was by no means an ordinary tuna sandwich. Large chunks of oil-packed tuna, the flavor and texture of which is unmatched by any I've ever found stateside, were layered in with very thinly sliced tomato, some arugula, and a few capers. Sometimes I'd request a bit of spicy mustard too. Pressed firmly together and wrapped in paper, I'd carry the sandwich a few blocks down the street to the photography studio where I spent the afternoons. There I'd savor it as slowly as I could, quietly enjoying the simple perfection of quality ingredients--the slightly metallic taste of the tuna, cut by the bite of arugula, sweetness of the tomato, and acidity of the capers and mustard. Binding it all together, the incomparably tasty olive oil from the tuna soaked through the ends of the bread by the time I got to the last few bites.

I have never been able to recreate that sandwich. There's just not the right bread here, not to mention the tuna or even the tomatoes. I think about it from time to time, though, and try to conjure up something similarly simple and delicious in its honor. This pasta salad is one such attempt.

Pasta Salad with Tuna, Arugula, and Corn

1 bunch arugula

1 shallot

handful of green olives or about 2 tablespoons capers

1 ear of corn

1 can olive-oil packed tuna, partially drained

about 1/2 box or bag of small pasta (I use Racconto whole wheat bowties-my fave)

salt and pepper to taste, red pepper flakes (optional)

chopped cherry tomatoes (optional, I didn't have any but suggest adding)

Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, cook the corn (I like to shuck it and cook, turning once, for 2 minutes in the microwave). When it's cool enough, cut the kernels from the cob. Wash, stem and roughly chop arugula. Dice olives and shallot. Combine shallot and olives/capers in a bowl with the tuna, breaking it apart a bit with a fork. Add corn, tomatoes, and arugula and then the pasta after it's cooked, drained and mostly cooled. Toss together with a little olive oil, salt & pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste and enjoy!

A Bean Breakthrough

2011-05-30T09:04:00.004-05:00

The Bean: not exactly a food that gets a lot of people excited. Luckily, I've eaten some really amazing beans in my lifetime and am convinced that humble though they may be, when cooked well they can be nothing short of a revelation.

I know this because I grew up with a dad with a real gift for bean cookery (he has a gift for most cookery, it's true) and though he never seems to cook them the same way twice, his black beans are always the best. I'm still dreaming of the tomato-stewed garbanzos or 'ceci' I ate in the foothills of the Italian Alps almost a decade ago, and I make regular pilgrimages to Casa de Luz, Austin's macrobiotic restaurant, for their impeccably tender and flavorful beans of all kinds.

Up until recently, though, I've been unable to work any bean magic in my own kitchen. It's not for lack of trying. I even bought a pressure cooker a few months ago with the hope that it would kick my bean cooking abilities up a notch. Unfortunately, I've churned out batch after batch of bad to mediocre beans. At the worst, I cook them forever and they never seem to get tender. At best, they're tender but the texture's somehow wrong or they just fall apart into a beany sludge. The frustrating part is that I've been following all the cardinal rules of cooking beans: I buy shiny, fresh-looking beans from stores with lots of turnover, I soak them overnight, I don't salt or add acidic ingredients until the end, etc. All for nought.

So a few weeks ago I decided to throw out all the rules. Specifically, I decided to follow in the footsteps of the renegade bean cook Russ Parsons of the LA Times. Parsons made waves a while back by declaring soaking to be a bunch of bunk and encouraging folks to salt throughout the bean-cooking process. A true maverick, Parsons also cooks his beans in the oven rather than on the stove. I like this guy.

Guess what?! Ignoring all the rules works! I've tried his method twice now with great results--a beany breakthrough at last!

If you're interested in giving this method a whirl, here's a long discussion about it: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?%2Ftopic%2F99104-no-soak-beans-in-the-oven-in-90-minutes%2F

And a summary:

--preheat oven to 250 degrees

--use a pot with a tight-fitting lid (I use my cast iron dutch oven)

--pick through your beans for broken pieces, dirt, etc., rinse if you like, and cover with water about 1.5 inches higher than the beans. no soaking needed! (I didn't use this formula but if you're the formulaic type, you can try 6 cups of water/ 1 lb of beans)

--cover and bring to boil on the stove, then transfer the pot into the oven

--cook for about 40 mins, check the beans to make sure they have enough water, give 'em a stir, add salt (about 1 tsp kosher salt/lb beans) and return to the oven for about another 35 mins.

--after 75 mins total oven cooking, your beans should be cooked to perfection. Some batches may need a little more time (one of mine, when I was cooking some old beans that had been in my pantry for several years, needed about 20 more mins). Just keep an eye on them.

The first time I used this method I made some giant lima beans and turned them into this delicious Greece-inspired dish. It got rave reviews at a picnic and would be great on bruschetta.

Ingredients

1 lb gigates beans or peruvian limas

3-4 tomatoes or 5-6 canned whole san marzanos (I used canned), diced

1 large carrot

4 celery stalks

4 bay leaves

1 yellow onion

6 cloves garlic

1/4 cup plus 1 T olive oil

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2.5 tbs red wine vinegar

1/3 cup chopped fresh dill (I used about 1/6 cup dried--yep, lots!)

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the beans and bay leaves using the Parsons method discussed above. Turn oven up to 350 when done with beans. (You can cook beans ahead of time too)

Meanwhile, dice the onion, celery, carrots, and finely chop garlic. Heat the 1/4 cup olive oil in a very large skillet and add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring, until just translucent, then add carrot and celery. When carrots begin to get soft, add tomatoes, tomato paste, and red wine vinegar, and pepper flakes. Cover and let simmer, stirring frequently, about 30 mins or until tomatoes have broken down. Add parsley and dill and salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the beans, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid and discard bay leaves. Combine the tomato mixture and beans, and cook a bit more to meld flavors, adding the reserved liquid if it seems too dry.

Cool to room temperature or chill and serve cold as a salad. You can also place the beans in a casserole in the oven at 425, covered in foil for about 30 mins, uncovered for another 10 and serve over bruschetta.

Cheer Up Chipotle Chicken Soup

2011-04-17T10:15:00.004-05:00

Well, that was a long, unintentional blog hiatus! These past few months have been busy for some reason, and though I've been cooking as usual, I haven't concocted much lately from that experimental, playful place that usually leads me to post here. Hopefully these spirit-lifting sunny spring days and overflowing veggie bounty from my CSA basket will reverse the trend.

This week I found some kitchen inspiration in a gift. After celebrating an early Passover seder with my family (Passofaux), I came home with a big jar of my mom's homemade chicken soup and a bag full of tender chicken meat. Very uncharacteristically for this indecisive cook, I knew almost immediately what I'd make with this generous gift: a simple, spicy chicken soup. It would be light and brothy, sweet with carrots and potatoes, but pack a punch with smoky chipotle and a bit of lime. Just the kind of soup that works perfectly, somehow, even on a warm day.

I did my usual internet sleuthing for an inspirational recipe and found an old one from Gourmet that seemed about right. I followed it loosely (also as usual) and, amazingly, it worked! From Gourmet came the idea to use a spicy, oniony puree to add fullness to the soup base. From my brain (and taste-memories of soups in Mexico, and of Kim Abernethy's tortilla soup) came the addition of tomatillos, hominy, and potato. Though the homemade soup from fancy organic chicken that my mom made surely made this soup a standout, I'm sure you could come close, in a pinch, with stock from a box and rotisserie chicken. It's a soup that stands up well to improvisation, so jump on in and slurp a spring into your step!

**A note for all you vegetarians: I think you could make something very similar with your favorite veggie stock, perhaps adding more veggies (zucchini?) and maybe chickpeas or black beans instead of chicken.

CHIPOTLE CHICKEN SOUP

8 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade

2 cups cooked chicken, torn into bite-size pieces

1 large white onion, halved, one half diced

2 cloves garlic, peeled

3 carrots, cut into rounds

1 russet potato, peeled and cubed

6 tomatillos, husks removed, cut into bite-size chunks

1 T canola or veggie oil

1 and 1/2 chipotle chiles in adobo (use just one if you're feeling shy, 2 if you like a burn)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 big handful cilantro

1 can (15 oz? small can) white hominy, drained

salt and pepper

*optional, but in my opinion essential, garnish ingredients:

avocado, lime, fresh chopped cilantro, a bit of crumbled mild feta or queso fresco

Heat oil in a heavy soup pot over medium low heat. Add diced onion and saute a couple minutes. Add carrot and potatoes and saute, stirring frequently, until they begin to tenderize, adding a few splashes of water to the veggies as they cook if they're sticking to the pan. Meanwhile, in a food processor, make the spice puree: blend together remaining onion, garlic, chipotle, and cumin into a fairly smooth paste. Warning: this is powerful stuff--may bring tears to your eyes!

Pour puree into the pot, stir a few times, and then add the stock. Drop in a big handful of cilantro, stems and all (you can remove these at the end--they add great flavor). Cook, covered, over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until the potato is almost fully cooked. Add tomatillos and hominy, stir and cook maybe 5 minutes more until all the veggies are tender to your liking. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve garnished to your heart's content, making sure to squeeze a slice of lime over the top. With a cold beer in hand, your meal is complete!

Something Old and Something New

2011-01-26T22:09:00.006-06:00

There's no denying it: new is sexy. And the same old thing? The old standby? Not so much. I've been thinking about this a lot ever since a friend of my neighbors' backed into my car last week, leaving a significant dent. The poor girl was already quite battle scarred and, by most accounts, OLD for her 11 years, but still runs just fine. The financially prudent thing to do would be to just keep driving her trusty wheels on into the sunset. But, instead, all I can think about now is how soon I can trade her in for a new, sleek, young thing. The temptation is too great...someday soon, I will succumb.

The appeal of the new is even stronger in my relationship with food and cooking. Though I complain about our culture of disposability, and resist it in some areas of my life (wearing old clothes, using hand-me-down furniture, repairing instead of replacing appliances), I also spend countless hours devouring information about the latest restaurant menu trends, perusing new cookbooks, seeking out new recipes, flavors, and food combinations. I very rarely cook the same thing twice.

Variety is a privilege. It is also naturally a good nutritional choice, so I'll give myself a break there. But when I think about it, I'm really not so sure that so much 'new' in my food-filled life has made me a better cook or a happier eater. It's really the time-honored and tested recipes--my dad's black bean salad, Mom's lasagna, Meemaw's latkes, to name but a few--that I find the most satisfying. And I think it's telling that some of the best cooks I know, while surely phenomenal improvisers in kitchen, also all have their signature dishes and recipes that they make time and time again. They've come to be associated so strongly with these dishes, in fact, that should they risk showing up at a pot-luck dinner without them in tow, all hell breaks loose.

Missy is one of those cooks. She's a natural, and is constantly inventing tasty new things, but she's also, thankfully, devoted to her old standbys. Viennese almond crescent cookies sound good? You haven't lived until you've tasted hers. The Indonesian Rice Salad from one of the original Moosewood cookbooks? Not just hippy food--her version is killer. I could go on but thinking about Missy's food just makes me hungry for a second dinner.

My long-winded point, I think, is simply to try more often to remember that though it may not always be the sexiest option, something old or routine can often be the most satisfying in the end. With that in mind, I hope to resist the pull of uncharted food territory and refine a few standby, signature dishes of my own in the coming year. I'll share them here with you when they're ready.

Meanwhile, for your cooking and tasting pleasure, here's Missy's Cheese Bread. It's spectacularly good, and quick and easy to make too. A slice of this and a bowl of soup and you'll never want to eat anything else again. Well maybe not never again...

Missy's Cheese Bread

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar or honey

1 egg mixed with enough milk to make 1 cup

2-3 tablespoons oil or butter (melted and cooled)

1/4 of an onion, diced

1 cup grated sharp cheese (Missy uses a blend of Asiago and sharp Cheddar)

small handful of parsley, chopped

2-3 tablespoons caraway seeds

poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Saute chopped onions, cool, and mix into liquids. Mix together dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add liquids and mix until just blended (if batter seems dry, add a little more milk). Scrape batter into prepared 9 inch cake pan or ceramic baking dish, sprinkle poppy seeds on top, and bake 20-30 minutes (it's done when a toothpick comes out dry).

(photo credit: the one and only Emilio Scoti)

Soupy Sunday

2010-11-15T19:02:00.006-06:00

A few weeks ago the weather shifted from ridiculously hot to ever-so-slightly cool; a shift that signals fall here in Texas. Seasonal transitions always inspire me and this one was particularly welcome because it meant I could finally have another dinner party. (My house is so tiny that any group of four or more for dinner requires dining al fresco.) Anticipating that this day would eventually, mercifully arrive, I've been drooling over the "sunday suppers" in this cookbook, dreaming of making a whole menu for friends some Sunday this fall. The cool breezes, however, did not blow in a windfall for the ole bank account and instead I settled on a far more humble, but no less delicious menu.

We would have soup. Soup, I think, is the perfect main course for a simple dinner party. Many soups can be made at least a day ahead (I'm a big believer in soup tasting better the next day), reheated, and served. Hearty bean and grain-based soups make a filling meal that usually pleases vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. Pair the soup with a salad, and maybe some breads and cheese, and you're set.

For my soup party I decided to try out a very unique sounding lentil soup from one of my favorite food blogs, 101 cookbooks. Usually Heidi's recipes look and sound gorgeous but I've made very few because they often call for whole grains, produce, and spices that I don't readily have available. This soup, however, appealed to me in its simplicity--it's nothing more than lentils and split peas seasoned with a few flavorful ingredients. Plus the recipe called for coconut milk and I'm a complete sucker for coconut milk-based soups.

So here she is folks, coconut red lentil soup. What she lacks in looks she makes up for in flavor, I promise. I'm not a big fan of split pea soups in general but combined with the lentils and all the other fabulous flavors they were really nice here. I decided to serve the soup over white basmati rice which was tasty but unnecessary given the heartiness of the soup itself. And, because I couldn't help myself, I also served these delicious, slightly spicy sweet potato biscuits on the side. As you can see from the photo below, my biscuits were a bit on the squat side, but I assure you, this is a winner of a recipe. Lily brought a tasty cranberry and walnut salad and Amanda and Lenny's carrot cupcakes took it over the top!

All told, soupy Sunday was a smashing success and I'm already scheming up the next one. Here's a parting action scarfing shot of the evening. Hopefully those pictured will forgive me.

Coconut Red Lentil Soup

*from the Esalen Cookbook via 101 cookbooks

1 cup yellow split peas

1 cup red split lentils

7 cups water

1 medium carrot, diced

2 T peeled and minced fresh ginger

2 T curry powder (make sure it's fresh!)

2 T butter

8 scallions, thinly sliced

1/3 cup golden raisins

1/3 cup tomato paste

1 14 oz can coconut milk (you can use 'light' if you're feeling virtuous)

2 tsp fine grain sea salt

handful chopped cilantro

Rinse the peas and lentils well under running water. Place in a large soup pot, cover with the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, add carrot and 1/4 of ginger, cover and simmer for about 30 mins. until peas are tender.

Meanwhile, in a dry skillet over low heat, toast the curry powder until it is fragrant. Careful not to burn it! Set it aside. Place the butter in the pan over medium heat and add half the onions, the rest of the ginger, and the raisins. Saute for a few minutes, then add the tomato paste and saute for a few more. Add the curry powder to this mixture and then add it to the simmering soup along with the coconut milk and salt.

Simmer uncovered for about 20 more minutes or until it reaches your desired thickness (longer for thicker--you can always thin it with more water). Serve topped with cilantro and remaining onions as garnish. It's also great over rice or another whole grain.

Serves 6-8 generously.

Toast with Roasted Butternut, Goat Cheese and Saba

2010-10-11T20:39:00.007-05:00

When it comes to all things food, I like to think I'm pretty well informed. I spend a lot of time (probably an unhealthy amount) reading, daydreaming, and writing about food, so when something totally new and unexpected in the foodie realm crosses my path, I usually perk up and pay attention. When a mysterious ingredient called saba made its way onto my radar, though, I was pretty slow on the uptake.

Months ago a sweet friend and fellow food lover gave me a bottle of this new-to-me condiment. Saba, I learned from the luxuriously decorative bottle label and some googling, is a syrupy reduction made in Italy from grape must--a byproduct of wine-making. Apparently, during her tenure at San Francisco's Pizzetta, my friend would serve saba drizzled over fresh summer fruit and berries. It certainly sounded intriguing but since it wasn't yet summer and I had no fresh berries on hand, I left my bottle of saba unopened, happy enough that it would grace my kitchen shelf with its beauty.

Then, a few weeks ago, I received the latest issue of Saveur magazine. Lo and behold, within its pages was a lovely little piece on saba's Spanish sister, arrope, a syrup made from muscat grape must. The story featured chunks of pumpkin, simmered in this dark syrup, and served with bread and goat cheese. I immediately thought of my bottle of as-yet-unloved saba and before long whipped up what's now my new favorite appetizer (actually, who am I kidding? It's my new favorite meal!). Saba, it turns out, is fabulous! Its flavor is difficult to describe--kind of like a combination of molasses and a good balsamic vinegar.

In my riff on the Saveur recipe, I drizzled saba over bread spread thick with bucheron cheese and topped with chunks of roasted butternut squash and beets. Saba's sweetness make is a particularly great counterpoint to the saltiness of fresh cheese and helps bring out the sugar in the veggies. As delicious as this first experimental combination was, I'm already itching to try out some other possibilities. Next time around I'm thinking some kind of roasted winter squash or pumpkin pureed, and then spread on toasted slices of bread, topped with crumbles of goat cheese or grated sheep cheese, and finished with a flourish of saba. I'm sure it would also make a fantastic glaze for roast chicken.

As we transition from summer to fall and even slight shifts in the weather shed a different light on things, it's the perfect time to seek out something new to taste. Whether it's saba (available here in TX at Central Market) or something else altogether, you never know what delicacies you might discover.

Key Lemon Pie

2010-09-28T13:47:00.004-05:00

We had a potluck on sunday night and I wanted to make something new. I found myself dreaming of lemons and ginger once again and came up with a different twist on the traditional Key Lime Pie. I think the gingersnap crust was the perfect balance to the tart lemon filling. It was so easy and super yummy...As you can see it was a hit, we only have half of a piece left!

Gingersnap Pie Crust:

1 1/4 c finely ground gingersnap cookie crumbs (~ 20 cookies ground in food processor)

2 T sugar

1 tsp+ minced crystallized ginger

5 T unsalted butter, melted

- Move oven rack to center of oven and preheat to 350.

- Mix cookie crumbs, sugar, and ginger in medium bowl.

- Add melted butter and stir until evenly moistened.

- Press crumbs firmly and evenly onto bottom and up sides of a 9-inch diameter glass pie dish.

- Bake until crust is firm and slightly darker in color, ~ 8 minutes.

- Cool crust completely

Key Lemon Filling:

1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk

4 large egg yolks

1/2 c plus 2 T fresh or bottled Key lemon juice

- Whisk together condensed milk and egg yolks until well combined.

- Add lemon juice and whisk until well combined and mixture thickens slightly.

- Pour filling into crust and bake in middle of oven for 15 minutes.

- Cool pie completely on rack (filling will set as it cools).

- Chill, covered, for ~8 hours in the fridge. (If you have less time, put in freezer for 30 minutes in middle of chilling period to turbo cool.)

- Serve pie topped with freshly whipped cream.

Aunt Buck's Mandelbrodt

2010-08-26T22:16:00.012-05:00

Mandelbrodt doesn't quite fit into the category of cuisine that my dad refers to, lovingly, as Jewish soul food. It stands apart from traditional eastern European Jewish dishes like potato latkes, creamed herring, chopped liver, and tzimmes , with its blatant lack of even a single ingredient of the holy Jewish soul food trinity: garlic, onion, and schmaltz (rendered chicken fat). Despite these shortcomings, mandelbrodt (translated literally as 'almond bread') holds a special place in my sentimental heart, mostly because my grandmother made them on holidays as a special treat. She'd transport the cookies from Houston in a wax-paper lined tin that smelled faintly of cigarette smoke and potpourri like everything of hers did. I loved them.

I hadn't had mandelbrodt in years and for some reason recently had a craving for some. The craving sent me digging through my binder of family recipes where I discovered that it certainly wasn't just my grandmother who had a fondness for these dry, biscotti-like cookies. Among the recipes I found no less than four takes on mandelbrodt, all slightly different, from several women of my grandparent's generation on both sides of my family. I'm guessing the dessert's popularity and sticking power has to do with the fact that it uses relatively inexpensive, easily-obtainable ingredients, can be made in large batches, requires no refrigeration, and gets better with age.

When I baked up my first batch recently, I decided to go with Mrs. Harry H. Berman's (aka Aunt Buck, my mom's great-aunt from Chattanooga, TN) version. I liked the look of her recipe and I liked Aunt Buck. In addition to Harry Berman, she went through several husbands in her life, and in her youth was a formidable fisherwoman. By the time I knew her she was an old woman who wore a wig--a fact that fascinated me endlessly as a kid. She gave me little diamond earrings. Surely her recipe for mandelbrodt would be awesome.

The basic process of mandelbrodt-making is to mix up an eggy batter, roll or spoon it into a log or multiple logs, partially bake and then slice the logs, and then bake the slices, turning once so they become golden brown on both sides. Then, while the cookies are still warm you toss them with cinnamon sugar. They are especially tasty with a cup of coffee or tea, or dunked into bowl of ice cream.

Aunt Buck's Mandelbrodt

**be warned--this recipe makes a lot of cookies--probably 4 dozen, depending on the size 'logs' you make. the good news is that they keep well in a covered container and will earn you sugary kisses when you pawn them off on friends

4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
2 3/4 cups unsifted all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup blanched almonds (I used toasted whole almonds and chopped them up a little)

(cinnamon sugar coating--I eyeballed this--I don't like it very cinnamony but you can make this to taste)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Measure, then sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Beat first five ingredients thoroughly, then add sifted dry ingredients and then nuts. Beat thoroughly.

Using a tablespoon (Buck specifies a tablespoon--I say use whatever spoon you want), spoon mixture onto an ungreased cookie sheet making about 4 strips (or logs) about 1 1/2 inches apart (I made 2 larger logs rather than 4 small ones). Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or when firm and slightly brown on bottom. Remove from oven and slice into small slices diagonally. Loosen from pan with spatula and then turn each piece onto a sliced side. Return to oven and brown for about 15 minutes or so. Remove from oven and flip each cookie over to the other side and bake for another 15 minutes. When golden brown on both sides, remove from oven, let cool slightly. Mix cinnamon and sugar together in a large ziplock back. While the cookies are still warm toss them into the bag with the cinnamon sugar, seal, and gently shake around to coat the cookies. You may have do do this in several batches and will have leftover cinnamon sugar.

Will keep well in a covered container for at least a week.

A Meal in Thirty

2010-08-19T20:50:00.004-05:00

Hi Folks! It's been a while since I've checked in here...been busy. I thought I'd drop in tonight do a little show and tell about what I had for dinner because it was, in a word, delectable.

Here it is: Seared Steelhead Trout with Fresh Herbs, Tomatoes and Olives; Sauteed Zucchini; Quinoa.

Ain't she purty? (The food that is, not the photo stylings. What can I say? It was dark. I was hungry.) You wanna know something great? The whole thing, from opening the fridge to sitting down to eat, took all of 30 minutes. Yes, I timed it.

The one sneaky trick I had up my sleeve was a tupperware full of pre-cooked quinoa, but since it takes only 20 minutes or so to cook quinoa, even without that advantage I still could have pulled off the meal in much less than an hour. And so can you! Here's how...

Ingredients (makes 2 robust servings):

1 cup quinoa (you'll have leftovers)
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1/2 large onion or one medium onion, roughly chopped
Bragg's or soy sauce to taste (maybe 1-2 T?)
about 3 T. olive oil
1 lb. steelhead salmon filet
6ish cherry tomatoes, chopped
8 ish kalamata olives, chopped
1 clove of garlic, diced
1/2 a lemon
about 1 T. or so dry Vermouth or white wine
small handfull of fresh parsley, chopped
about 1 tsp. of your fave dried spices for fish (I use a blend that features fennel seed which I love)
pinch dried red pepper flakes
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Bring two cups of water to boil. Rinse quinoa in a fine strainer and add to boiling water. Stir, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, covered, for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

Begin to heat up a medium cast iron skillet on medium heat. Meanwhile, chop your onions and zuke. Film the bottom of the pan with about a T. or so of olive oil and when hot, add the onions, stirring frequently until they begin to turn transparent. Add zucchini and about a T. or so of Braggs/soy sauce and stir. Cook, stirring frequently and adding more sauce to taste, until zucchini reach your desired level of softness (I like mine pretty soft--probably about 8 mins).

Meanwhile, begin heating the saute pan for searing your fish over medium high heat. While pan heats, sprinkle dried herbs, red pepper, kosher salt and pepper over the fish. Chop tomatoes, olives, garlic, and fresh herbs. When pan is hot, add about 2 T. oil to the pan and quickly add the fish, skin side up. One you place the fish in the pan, don't mess with it for about 2 minutes or so. After a couple of minutes it will be have a nice golden browned crust and you will be able to easily flip it without it sticking. Flip it over and sear the other side for another couple of minutes. Depending on how rare you like your fish, you will only need to cook it for about 4-6 minutes total, so after about 4 minutes check it--if it's cooked enough in the thickest spots go ahead and remove to plate (it will continue to cook a bit so best to err on the rare side).

Keep heat on under the fish skillet and toss in tomatoes and olives, stirring for a minute or two until they begin to soften. Add garlic, half the fresh parsley, lemon juice, and vermouth/wine. Cook for another couple of minutes, toss in the rest of the fresh herbs, and pour over the plated fish. Serve zucchini and quinoa (with butter if you like) alongside.

Bon appetit!

P.S.: Since you'll have leftover quinoa, you might want some ideas for how to use it. In addition to this meal, here's what I've done with one cup of quinoa I cooked earlier this week:
--1 meal of quinoa 'fried rice'--stir fry whatever veggies you have laying around with sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and whatever sauces you like to use. Stir in an egg at the last minute
-2 meals of quinoa 'taco salad'--heat quinoa with cooked/canned black beans and stir in cooked veggies (broccoli, squash, carrots, peppers, etc.). Top with grated cheese, chopped tomatoes, avocado, and salsa.
-quinoa salad: mix quinoa with chopped jalapeno/serrano, red onion, feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, chopped cilanto, dired cranberries. Dress with olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper

This isn't gourmet stuff here folks, but it's good, healthy, cheap, and quick eating.

I'd love to know your favorite ways to use quinoa too!

Fried Green Tomatoes

2010-07-28T20:07:00.008-05:00

My mom grew up in Jackson, Mississippi and her favorite "southern" foods from her youth often showed up at our table. Okra was a regular staple, as were collard greens, cheese grits, and sweet potato biscuits. Every once in a while as a special treat Mom even made her absolute favorite: boiled peanuts (there's a future post there for sure folks). Fried green tomatoes, however, never graced our plates, probably because Mom isn't a big fan of tomatoes period and also generally avoids anything fried. But when I fell in love, as a young girl, with the book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, she gamely handed over her cast iron skillet and let me try my hand at making them using the recipe included in the book. I don't really remember much about the results of this early foray into the kitchen so I think they must have been pretty lackluster. Probably I was just disappointed that simply by making them I wasn't somehow magically transported to the Whistle Stop of my romantic/nostalgic fantasy.

Recently gifted several large green tomatoes from the prolific garden of friends (thanks Blaine, Laura, and Bill!), I decided to try again. Honestly, I'm now no more experienced in the nuances of frying anything, much less tomatoes, than I was back then, and I had no real recipe to use as a guide, but that didn't stop me. I also didn't have a camera on me to document these shenanigans and had to use my phone so I apologize for the extra-lousy photos.

What I did have was Laura's advice to double dip the sliced tomatoes--first in buttermilk, then in a mixture of flour and cornmeal, then once again in the buttermilk and finally the flour mixture. Laura's from Georgia so I figured she should know. It was great advice because these suckers were delicious! Really really good. If you wait until the oil is hot enough and fry them just right, the slightly sweet, slightly tart tomato gets cooked to the point of tenderness but not sogginess and is perfectly paired with the crunchy cornmeal batter. They were fantastic hot and straight out of the pan, lukewarm for seconds a little later, and still truly awesome leftover the next day cold straight from the fridge! Ketchup entirely optional.

If you can manage not to eat them all up unadorned as I did, I think they'd be phenomenal as a base for a poached egg with hollandaise, or some kind of gravy. Or how about a fried green tomato shrimp remoulade? I'm thinking yes.

Fried Green Tomatoes
**Please use this recipe as a loose guide. I was kinda eyeballing everything as I went, had to pour out more buttermilk, flour, and cornmeal a few times, and didn't really measure. I think it's a pretty forgiving process, though.

3 green tomatoes, sliced into about 1/4 to 1/2 inch rounds
1 cup (ish) all purpose flour
1 cup (ish) cornmeal
1-2 cups buttermilk (lowfat is fine)
peanut or vegetable oil
salt and pepper

Pour oil into a heavy skillet (cast iron is my fave) until it's about 1/2 inch deep (feel free to use more oil if you're feeling particularly extravagant or nostalgic). If you're frying up a lot of a tomatoes or want to finish relatively quickly, you might want to use more than one skillet. Heat at medium temperature until oil is quite hot but not smoking. Meanwhile, mix together the flour and cornmeal along with a good bit of salt and pepper on a plate and pour the buttermilk into a shallow bowl. When the oil is hot (you can test by tossing in a sprig of fresh parsley or other herb and seeing if it sizzles up nicely), start double dipping the tomatoes (buttermilk, then flour mixture, then buttermilk and flour mixture again).

As you finish dipping each tomato, drop it in the skillet. You want to fry only maybe 4-5 at a time depending on the size of your skillet--avoid crowding them. After a few minutes check the tomatoes--when they are golden brown, flip over and fry the other side. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels (now's not the time to skimp for the sake of the trees, folks). You might need to finish with a little extra salt to taste.

**Lily's lovebird, Birdy, helped me with my frying technique. Also, we made fried okra--same concept entirely.

Really Like Your Peaches

2010-07-19T15:42:00.009-05:00

I wait impatiently all year for peach season. Sure, all fruits and veggies are at their prime when eaten freshly picked at the right time of year, but I think peaches are particularly so. To me, summertime is made all the merrier by the fact that it's peach season here in the Texas hill country. I've had California peaches fresh from the orchard and Georgia peaches too, and I have to say with more than a pinch of native pride, give me a Texas peach any day. To my palette anyway, a Texas peach is sweeter, juicier, and somehow just peachier than any other. Lucky for me and the countless other Texas peach fanatics, it's been a banner year.

A few weekends ago some friends and I drove out to an orchard near Fredericksburg, in prime hill country Peach territory, to pick some straight from the source. If you have ever gone berry picking only to be dismayed by how looooooooong it took to fill your bucket or box, you should really try peach picking. In what seemed like a matter of minutes we had picked a peck of big, fat peaches. Actually, we picked about half a bushel which, if you can picture it, is about enough to fill your standard office file box. Even though I shared the box with a friend and ate fresh peaches every day as they began to soften, by last week when the vast majority of them ripened simultaneously, I had a helluva lot of peaches on my hands.

Intent not to waste even one precious peach, I knew I'd have to get a little resourceful. Freezing was an option, but with my luck I'd forget about them and they'd succumb to frost bite--a shameful end for such seasonal treasures. I opted to bake them instead and my tastebuds, and those of several willing dessert guests, are rather pleased with the choice (as for my waistline, well, the jury's still out).

A good number of the blushing yellow fellows found their way into a Peach Pudding Cake, baked last week and consumed with such gusto that I failed to capture its fleeting presence with a photograph. You'll simply have to take my word for it that this dessert is PRIMO. Slices of peaches arranged over the top of rich vanilla cake batter sink down to the bottom when it's baked. The thin sheet cake's center is soft and pudding-like but the high butter content creates a divine crispy edge. It's not the most beautiful dessert to look at, but as with most things important in life, it's not the looks that count. A generous spoonful or two of cold heavy cream over the top comes highly recommended.

Later in the week, restored by a few days of comparably ascetic fresh peach eating, I went back to the baking board with cobbler on my mind. It couldn't be just any cobbler, though. I wanted it to really feature the peaches, their flavor unadulterated, and to have a biscuit topping with some real character. Enter the sweet cornmeal biscuit recipe from Deb's cobbler. With such a toothsome topping, juicy slices of cooked peaches, brightened by just a little bit of brown sugar, lemon, and cinnamon, meet their perfect match. Double the biscuit recipe and you'll have plenty of topping plus some leftover to make impromptu peach shortcakes!

Isn't that just peachy?

Peach Pudding Cake

This recipe is from Bon Appetite but supposedly the original source is the Hyde Park Bar and Grill here in Austin. Their cake is called Wom Kim (???). Anybody want to join me there sometime for a little comparison taste test?

4 cups sliced, peeled peaches (dunk peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to make peeling a cinch)
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 1/4 t. baking powder
3/4 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups sugar (I used less but my peaches were especially sweet)
2 T vanilla extract (yes, 2 tablespoons)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
cream or whipped cream for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 9 x 13 inch glass dish w/ veggie oil and set aside. In a bowl whisk together all the flour, baking powder, salt, and soda. In a separate bowl use an electric mixer to beat butter until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar. Add vanilla, then eggs, one at a time, incorporating both well. Using low speed, add dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk in three additions each, beating well between each addition. Transfer batter to baking dish, spreading evenly. Arrange peach slices over the batter, overlapping them slightly. Spray a sheet of aluminum foil w/ vegetable oil and cover cake w/foil, spray side down, sealing edges. Bake for 45 minutes, then remove foil covering. Return to oven and continue baking until top is golden brown, edges are crusty and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean--about 40 more minutes. Cool for an hour and then serve topped with cream (whipped or not).

Peach Cornmeal Cobbler

Fruit:
6 cups sliced, peeled peaches
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar (I used regular and a little less)
2 T flour
2 T fresh lemon juice
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

Biscuit Topping:**double this for lots of topping**
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup fine stone-ground cornmeal (not sure if mine met the specs...worked out fine)
3 T dark brown sugar (used regular and a little less)
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
3 T cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 F. Toss together peaches and seasonings and pour into a 2 quart ovenproof dish.

Make dough: Stir together flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter into the dry mixture with your fingers or pastry blender. Stir in buttermilk with a rubber spatula until wet, tacky dough comes together.

Drop dough over the peaches by the spoonful covering most of the surface. Bake until the fruit and syrup are bubbly and the biscuits are browned (Deb says this should take 20-25 mins but at that point mine was still raw--I cooked it for about 40 mins). **you may want to place a baking sheet underneath it in the oven to catch drips. Let cool a bit and then scoop into bowls, top with cream or ice cream.

**Special shout out to Katie and Leah for their baking assistance. Merci!!**

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2010-07-09T10:54:00.003-05:00

All of the sudden, it is raining zucchinis in our garden at Twin Sisters Farm. Every day and every meal, I am trying to come up with creative ways to incorporate more zucchini into our bellies. I have made zucchini/chard enchiladas, two types of zucchini bread, and will attempt to make Smitten Kitchen's zucchini and ricotta galette this weekend. So far in the battle of the zucchini, the chocolate zucchini cake has been the victor. I first made a healthy version using plain yogurt and vegetable oil. Then, Jill Mason raised the stakes with this super moist and addicting version which uses milk and a healthy dose of butter. Give it a try, you will not be disappointed!

Ingredients:

2.5 c flour

0.5 c cocoa powder

2.5 t baking powder

1.5 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 t cinnamon

1.5 sticks (3/4 c) butter, softened

2 c sugar

3 eggs

2 t vanilla

2 t orange zest

2 c shredded zucchini

0.5 c milk (I used a mixture of buttermilk and soymilk.)

1 c chopped nuts (I skipped this.)

- Preheat oven to 350.

- Combine flour, cocoa, bkg powder, bkg soda, salt, cinnamon; set aside.

- In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar with hand mixer. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Stir in vanilla, orange zest, and zucchini with a spoon.

- Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk into wet ingredients. Add nuts at end if using.

- Pour batter into a bundt pan that has been greased and dusted with flour.

- Bake for about 50 minutes, until tooth pick comes out clean.

- Cool in pan for 15 minutes before continuing to cool on a wire rack. Yum!

Summertime Tastes Good

2010-07-02T11:10:00.009-05:00

So it's officially summer around here. Although the past few days of hurricane-induced clouds, rain, and 80 degree high temperatures have been a bit deceiving, there's really no doubt about it. And summertime in Texas is certainly no walk in the park. Spending any time outdoors means enduring sweltering heat, abundant mosquitoes, and compromising sweat stains. But our summers are also not without their pleasures. For me, summer means the chance to while away a whole afternoon hopping back and forth between the baking heat of my beach towel and the frigid waters of Barton Springs or Deep Eddy. It means warm summer evenings and fabulous, nighttime, star-filled swims. Summer brings impromptu lakeside picnics and driving home in the evening sitting on a towel, swimsuit still drying. It means late evening poolside dinners with friends and family, vases bursting with the bright colors of zinnias, and the scent of citronella in the air.

But best of all, it's the season of my favorite food. Summertime bliss comes in the form of sweet watermelon (with seeds!) and Pecos cantaloupe, Fredericksburg peaches, basil, tomatoes, okra, squash, green beans, and eggplant in every form you can imagine. This year the flavors of summer arrive conveniently on my doorstep on a weekly basis in the form of a farm share/CSA basket from Tecolote Farm. Although the farm has a long waiting list, by a stroke of luck I got to sign up, and now Leah and I split a basket of phenomenal local produce every week.

It's been about a month so far and every week the basket is different. Weeks past have brought leeks, carrots, beets, and lots of okra (hence the recipe below). This week's basket was particularly summery--chock full of tomatoes, eggplant, basil, cucumbers, and a very fragrant yellow melon. It arrived just in time to fuel a holiday weekend sure to bring good friends, great food, and fireworks!

Roasted Okra

**my new favorite way to prepare okra. so easy and so tasty too! next I want to try grilling it...will report back. Although I haven't yet tried it, I think it would also be great to roast fresh corn kernels and halved cherry tomatoes with the okra--and a little bit of fresh chopped basil at the very end.

okra (maybe 1 lb for two people??)
olive oil
salt (I use kosher)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Wash okra and slice off stem ends. Cut small (3-4 inch) okra pods in half lengthwise and larger pods into quarters. Pour about one tablespoon or so oil in bottom of bowl large enough to hold all the okra--add okra and mix to coat, adding more oil if it seems necessary. Sprinkle on about 1/2-1 teaspoon of salt (to taste) and mix. Spread okra out on a baking sheet so that it's not crowded (if you're cooking a lot of okra use more than one sheet). Place in heated oven and cook for 15 minutes until it starts to brown. Using spatula or tongs turn the okra and cook for another 10-15 minutes until very browned and crispy. Remove from oven, taste for salt, and serve immediately for ultimate crispness.

Polenta Pound Cake

2010-06-19T13:40:00.004-05:00

I go crazy for a.) any new baking recipe, b.) something that incorporates almonds or almond extract, and c.) anything with lemon zest. I found this recipe while looking to Deborah Madison for inspiration for a simple yet delicious dinner party dessert and it met all of the above criteria. Give this cake a try if you are looking for something that isn't too sweet and is a little bit different...

Ingredients:

1/4 lb unsalted butter

1 c sugar

zest of 1 lemon (I recommend more than this)

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 t almond extract

1/2 c sour cream or yogurt (I used plain yogurt)

1/2 c plus 2 T cornmeal (I used polenta)

1 c flour

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1/2 pine nuts (optional if you don't like nuts)

- Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour loaf pan.

- Cream butter, sugar, zest until fluffy. Add eggs, then flavorings and yogurt.

- Stir in cornmeal, flour, bkg powder, and salt.

- Spoon batter into loaf pan, shake to remove air pockets.

- Scatter pine nuts on top and press them into the batter.

- Bake until golden and/or toothpick comes out clean (about 1 hour)

- Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then finish cooling on rack.

- I served it with vanilla frozen yogurt and raspberry sorbet and it was quite yummy. But also suggest fresh fruit (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries) and whipped cream or ice cream.

Pickled

2010-06-09T15:15:00.012-05:00

I'm a sucker for a good pickle. (Yes, Leah, I wrote that line just for you). Like my Eastern European/Russian forbearers, I consider the pickle to be much more than simply a side act to the sandwich. Whether we're talking a garlicky, crispy dill with pastrami, chopped slivers of cornichon gracing a potato salad, or even the essential relish in my mom's signature tuna, in my opinion pickles deserve top billing.

Lately, much to my delight, I've noticed pickles of all stripes popping up on restaurant menus and in the pages of fancy food magazines. At hipper-than-thou Austin establishments, quick pickled red onions top burgers, and house-made pickled cukes grace many a side. Pickling things, long considered an activity fit only for bubbes, seems to be a part of the growing vogue for canning and preserving amongst the food-minded, DIY folk of my generation. New books on pickling and canning line bookstore virtual shelves faster than you can shake a stick (or dill spear) at them. This, as you might imagine, makes me very happy. And eager to join in the fun!

Despite our collective love of pickles, the Masons haven't done much pickling at home and have always been exceedingly brand loyal to the Claussen Kosher Dill ("the world's most excellent pickle"). Content with our Claussens, forays into home pickling were strictly limited to my mom's summertime canning of "dilly beans" and the occasional bumper pepper crop. When I rope my mom into canning some garden-fresh beans for me this summer, I'll be sure to record the process and share it with you here. If you've never had a spicy, dill-infused pickled green bean, you're missing out!

Lacking the patience and the shelf space for an extensive pickling/canning project myself, I've recently experimented with quick pickling (also known as refrigerator pickling). Happily, quick pickles don't require all the sterilizing and boilings of 'real' pickles and the result is just as satisfying. A few lackluster experiments with apple cider vinegar and soggy cucumbers got me off to a rough start but I think I finally hit the jackpot with these pickled carrots.

Going into this rather blindly, I was aiming for somewhere between giardiniera and escabeche--lots of vinegary tang, balanced by a tiny bit of sweetness, and some spice. And, miracle of miracles, that's exactly how they turned out! The best part is that they took almost no time to make and tasted delicious after only a day in the fridge! In a week I've eaten my way through more than half the jar. Tasty eaten alone as a snack (who needs measly baby carrots when these savory treats grace your refrigerator shelf?), they're also great in California rolls and alongside cheese quesadillas. Next on my agenda is a riff on an appetizer of boiled eggs topped with pickled carrot and chive blossoms served at Franny's in Brooklyn, written about in this post--the original inspiration for my pickled carrot experiment.

I'm seeing a lot of carrots in my future this summer folks! Hope you like the smell of vinegar!

Spicy Pickled Carrots

1.5 cups water
1 1/4 cups white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
5 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1 bag carrots (one pound??) or about 6 medium to large carrots

1/2 or 1 whole white or yellow onion, peeled and sliced

2 large cloves garlic (or more if you like garlic), peeled
about 6 or so spicy pickled peppers (peperoncini)
medium size glass jar with tight-fitting lid or other glass or heavy-duty plastic container with tight lid

**use this recipe merely as a guide--feel free try pickling other veggies or changing proportions to suit your tastes

Bring the water to a low boil and add sugar and salt. Stir until dissolved and remove from heat. Add vinegar, mustard seeds, and red pepper flakes and set aside to cool a bit. Put a pot of water large enough to hold all the carrots on to boil. Meanwhile, rinse, trim, and peel carrots and cut into desired shape (I prefer thick matchsticks). When water boils add carrots and blanch for no more than 3 minutes, then drain them in a colander, immerse in an ice-water bath for a few minutes(keeps them crisp and bright), and then drain again.

Place some of the onions, the garlic, and a few peppers in bottom of jar or container. Add about half the carrots on top, then the rest of the onions/peppers and top with remaining carrots. Pour vinegar and spice mixture over the veggies and be sure to cover them completely (if you have a small jar you may have too much liquid--that's fine, you just don't want too little). Cover and refrigerate. Your pickles will be ready to eat in day or two and will get a little stronger the longer you keep them. If you manage to not eat them immediately, as long as you keep them refrigerated and don't go digging around in the jar with grubby fingers, your pickles will keep for several weeks.

Kalamata Olive Tapenade

2010-06-07T16:19:00.003-05:00

Alpine, Texas is a tough place to own a restaurant. They seem to be going in and out of business all the time. Unfortunately, one of the most recent closures was our landladies' restaurant "The Gulf Station Cafe." It was a cute little place on the railroad tracks that tried to serve healthy, yummy food to a clientele which prefers large quantities of less-than-healthy fare. Anyways, one of the unforeseen benefits of the restaurant closing has been that we have received an interesting assortment of extra food. We had a large bag of whole cranberries which I made into a cranberry coffee cake a few weeks ago, a large block of feta cheese which is hanging out in our freezer awaiting inspiration, and lastly a bunch of kalamata olives. When life gives you olives, make olive paste- right? If it is ever raining olives in your neck of the woods, give this recipe a try. It is down-right delicious!

Tapenade (Adapted from Epicurious)

1 3/4 c kalamata olives

3 T + 1/4 c toasted, chopped walnuts (I used pecans)

1/4 c olive oil

2 t dijon mustard

1 garlic clove (I used 3 or so)

1 t fresh thyme

1 t fresh oregano

1 t fresh sage (my plant just died, so I skipped this)

Pinch of cayenne

- Pulse olives and 3 T of toasted nuts in food processor.

- Add oil, mustard, garlic, and spices. Pulse to mix.

- Stir in remaining 1/4 c chopped nuts.

- Chill until ready to serve. Serve with sliced bread, cheese (sharp cheddar or a nice blue cheese give a great counter-flavor) and an assortment of veggie adornments such as cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil leaves or whatever creative stuff you pull out of your garden or fridge.

Easy As Pie

2010-05-28T12:03:00.008-05:00

My mom's quite a gal. She can nail just about any jazz standard, whip up a batch of incomparable coffee ice cream, and maintain an effortless air of patience and calm amidst the storm that the rest of us constantly create around her. I count myself lucky to possess a good deal of her genetic material--responsible, surely for our shared impeccable taste for expensive shoes, jewels, and all the finer things in life.

And what, I ask, could be finer than a slice of homemade pie? Not much in my mom's book, or mine. The trouble is, Mom has a hard time getting pies to cooperate. Her numerous attempts at making the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie from scratch have almost always ended in curses (coming from my mom even curses are adorable) and gratuitous whipped cream toppings. Summertime desserts at my mom's table are peach and berry cobblers--delightful in their own right but just not quite pie. The problem, you see, is the crust. Despite trying all the tricks in the book, Mom's crusts have a tendency to stick to the counter, the rolling pin, or just fall to pieces. When baked, they like to slip and slide their way down the edges of any pie pan, ending up misshapen and not quite capable of fully containing anything. Fancy crimped edges or a lattice top? Forgettaboutit!

Now I normally wouldn't dream of airing my mother's culinary dirty laundry online for all to read. However, I'm sure she'll forgive me for doing it now because a) I'm confident she's not the only one with pesky pie problems and b) I am also sure that her dreadful days of disappointing pie baking are now a thing of the past. I know this to be the case because she is now equipped with a new set of pie-making know-how thanks to a private class we were lucky enough to attend together last Sunday.

My lovely sister, brilliant and generous soul that she is, came up with the idea of a pie-making class for my mom for Mother's Day this year. A few weeks after the fact, my mom, sister, aunt, cousin, and I gathered together to take a class with Marilyn, one of my parents' longtime friends and an accomplished cook and baker extraordinaire (check out her website here). We spent several hours gathered around Marilyn's massive butcher block island and watched as she whipped up three different kinds of pies (two sweet, one savory) all while sharing priceless pie-making pointers with us. She made it look easy as pie and gave us all confidence that when we stepped out of her hallowed kitchen we, too, could make something so beautiful and tasty.

I think my mom went home and baked up a blueberry pie the next day. I managed to wait a few days before I made this--my very first pie! I used blackberries, cheap and abundant at the grocery right now, and it was really, really good. Really good. And honestly, it wasn't hard to make at all! I'm sure my next pie will be even better...especially if I manage to acquire a few of the tools my kitchen is missing (note: fingers do not work as well as a pastry brush for applying an egg wash).

I am now even more convinced that some of the best gifts we can give and receive are not things but experiences--experiences that end up being something you'll have with you forever and also, preferably, eat.

Although I would love to share Marilyn's recipe for double-crust fruit pie with you here, I don't feel comfortable doing so since she does this professionally and I don't have her permission. I will say that her recipe used equal parts butter and shortening and resulted in a tender and flaky crust that is, to quote Jill Mason, "to die for." I'll see if Marilyn will allow me to share the recipe but meanwhile hopefully you will be content with using the following pointers gleaned from the class with your own favorite recipe. Try 'em out yourself and I'm sure you too will soon be rich in pie.

**pie making is easier with the proper tools. these include the following:
--a food processor or a pastry blender (either option works equally well but the manual route provides a bit more careful control)
--a pastry scraper to sweep under the dough as you're rolling it out to prevent sticking
--a simple 9" pyrex pie pan
--a pastry brush (you can use an unused paint brush from the hardware store)
--a rolling pin--any style will do

**the cold is your friend: make your crust with very cold butter and shortening and even flour straight out of the fridge

**don't potchky (mess) with it too much--this rule applies to the whole process, from blending the fats into the dry ingredients to rolling the dough out and placing it into the pan. Blending should just take a few short pulses in the food processor or with the hand blender--you need not worry about creating uniform "pea size" crumbs. As long as it is generally mixed together and wet enough to squeeze into a ball, you're golden. Too much fussing and your dough will warm up and become difficult to work with.

**refrigerate the dough balls (actually more like pucks) for at least an hour before rolling out

**make sure your work surface is coated in a thin, even layer of flour and use flour on your hands when messing with the crust to prevent sticking.

**when rolling out the dough just work from the center out and work around in a circle--no need to flip the dough just move it around to make sure it's not sticking and if it is, re-flour the work surface

**when placing the dough in the pan you can fold it into quarters, line the pointy part of the resulting triangle of dough up with the center of the pan and unfold--like magic your crust is perfectly centered

**instead of pulling the dough down and over the edges of the pan, you should actually lift the edges up with your hands and kinda coax the dough down as you settle it into the pan--maybe I'll add a little video demo of this soon? i think this is the step that helps keep the dough from shrinking back.

**after placing the top crust over the filling, tuck its edges under the edges of the bottom crust but on top of the edge of the pie plate--this seals the deal and creates a thick edge that you can decorate with crimps and press down onto the plate with a fork, etc.

**be sure to cut slits in the top of the pie for steam to escape--an odd number is better than even (aesthetically and maybe even, you know, spiritually)

**brushing the top of the pie with an egg wash (one beaten egg, one tablespoon cold water) and a sprinkling of turbinado sugar makes it purty.

**place the pie pan on a baking sheet in the oven to prevent nasty oven spills

**and (this is a tough one folks) you must let the pie cool before cutting and serving it--the fruit needs to cool somewhat to set otherwise your pie will be runny and sad (but still taste good!)

Salad Days

2010-05-19T14:28:00.003-05:00

I like most salads just as much as the next person; as a side or precursor to the main dish, playing second fiddle to the starring act. I've never been a salad for lunch everyday kinda girl and I'm a little more than picky when it comes to lettuce (no wilted, tasteless baby greens for me, thank you!). Granted, there are better-than-average salads that have been known to get me really excited. There was, for example, the great food love of my childhood--the 'special' salad at Paesano's in San Antonio--that featured avocado, hearts of palm, and tomato. I think I had it all of two times and I remember it fondly still today. Or, more recently, there was the cardoon and chervil salad at Chez Panisse and, even better, my friend JZ's avocado and grapefruit salad sprinkled delicately with spicy red pepper. Oh and of course there's Lamar's caesar salad (I'll post the recipe soon but be warned, it only tastes right when Lamar makes it) and Carolyn's spinach and avocado delight (Carolyn, how do you make it so good?!). I'm sure there have been many, many more standout salads in my life but they have mostly faded away now, brushed aside in my memory to make room for the more spectacular dishes.

All that as a sort of preamble to something strange that's been going around here foodwise. I've been making salads like crazy. Like everyday...for lunch or dinner. I think it's the heat and also the way I've been cooking and shopping for food. Despite the onset of summer temperatures, there have been beautiful lettuces at the farmers market and baby beets in my garden. I've been buying dried beans and making a batch a week that I add to salads for a bit of extra heft. Plentiful fresh eggs from friends and the market are hardboiled (steamed, actually, for 12 minutes and then dunked in ice water) and sliced over the top. Basically, a salad makes a perfect platform for enjoying fresh, beautiful produce and proteins in their most basic, unadorned, delicious state.

Instead of a recipe, I'm going to leave you with a few more photos of recent salads that have been enjoyed and devoured at my table in the past week. Perhaps they'll inspire you, too, to enjoy these salad days.

Salads pictured at left from the top are:
Two salads in one--kidney bean and rice salad with green salad

More kidney beans but this time with boiled potato and fresh cilantro

This salad was awesome--avocado, walnuts, radishes, beets--what more could you ask for? I usually dress my salads simply with olive oil and some kind of vinegar but this crazy carrot dressing is fantastic if you love ginger (I do).

Bread. Yum.

2010-05-05T18:28:00.009-05:00

A couple of weekends ago I decided to forgo spring cleaning my house in order to conquer my fear of making bread. I mean, life's short, right? I decided to use Jim Lahey's "revolutionary" no-knead method, and boy am I glad I did! Turns out, making crusty, wholesome, delicious, beautiful bread at home is well within reach of a novice, accident-prone baker like me. And the truth is, it requires so little active working time that I could have baked bread and cleaned my house too (um, I didn't).

I might be one of the last food-blog readers around to experiment with this fabulous recipe and technique. Back in 2006 Mark Bittman published an article on Lahey's method in his Minimalist column for the New York Times. You can check it out here: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/08mini.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1.

Since then it's made the rounds of the world wide web and gained many devoted fans. It's easy to see why the bread made such a splash. Instead of calling for the traditional multiple rounds of kneading and punching down the dough, this recipe relies on the power of a long fermentation process (about 12-18 hours) to do all the work. After about 14 or so hours, your mixture of yeast, flour, salt, water and whatever else you fancy turns into a bubbly dough-monster like so:

After turning it out onto a floured surface, all you do is tuck in the sides and form it into a roundish shape and then place it on a smooth dish towel covered in a generous layer of flour and/or corn meal or wheat bran to rise for a few more hours.

Meanwhile, you heat the oven and a covered cast-iron or ceramic pot really, really hot. I used my 5.5 qt. round le cruset dutch oven, outfitted with its new, steel, heat-proof knob (can you believe such a pricey item comes with a plastic knob!?!) and it worked great. You then turn the dough ball out of the towel straight into the hot pot (I ran into trouble here with my first loaf when the dough stuck to the towel--again, cover the towel generously with flour/meal/bran).

Then you bake it for a while covered and then uncovered and, viola! A perfect loaf! The only difficult part is waiting a full hour for the tempting thing to cool completely. According to Lahey, cutting into hot-out-of-the-oven bread is a really bad idea for retaining moisture content, etc. I believe him, and you should too.

In short, I think this method is tops! If you've been intimidated by bread-making at home like I was, I urge you to run to your local library or bookstore (or borrow it from a friend--thanks Lily!) to check out the whole book and its many different recipes. mmmm...think I'll go eat some toast.

PS: Have you experimented with no-knead bread? Please share your recipes and tips if you have!

No-Knead Basic Bread Recipe

see recipe in the Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/08/dining/081mrex.html?ref=dining

The only differences between this recipe and the one I followed from Lahey's book are the following:

-use 1 1/3 cool water (might need an additional tablespoon or two if it seems too dry as mine did) instead of 1 5/8

-you can use any kind of dry yeast, not just instant

-the 15 minute resting period in step 2 can be completely skipped

-cook at 475 not 450

-i suggest about a 5 quart pot instead of the 6-8 quart listed in the Times--the dough spreads in a larger pot and makes a flatter loaf

***I also made a walnut and fig loaf from the book. This involved using the same basic recipe and procedure plus these changes to the dough:

-1/2 cup chopped dried figs

-1/2 cup chopped walnuts

-3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

-1/2 teaspoon yeast instead of 1/4

-1 1/2 cups cool water

-pinch black pepper

Cilantro Pesto

2010-04-23T12:38:00.004-05:00

Pesto ranks up there as one of my favorite foods--always has been. Come summertime, there's nothing I like more than a bowlful of pasta rich with pesto's spicy blend of basil, pinenuts, olive oil, and parmesan cheese (particularly--sigh--if I happen to be eating it beach-side in Moneglia in the true pesto motherland). The only trouble is, it's not always summer. Sure, basil and even high-quality ready-made pesto are available year-round in grocery stores but I'm a pretty firm believer that food tastes best when it's seasonal. Although it's starting to get plenty hot here, and light, summer foods are beginning to seem like just what the doctor ordered, basil season has yet to arrive at my house.

As a kind of interim measure, I decided to try making cilantro pesto instead. For some completely illogical reason, in my mind cilantro doesn't fall under the same seasonality limitations as basil. It's ripe for the picking off the grocery shelf all year long! A quick googling turned up a lot of different cilantro pesto recipes but I ended up settling on one from a back issue of Gourmet to use as a guide. Unlike a lot of the other recipes, this one doesn't call for parmesan which, although it's apparently good, sounds strange in combination with cilantro. It also includes some Asian flavors which is what I was craving although a more Mexican-flavored cilantro pesto (without fish sauce and sesame oil--plus a little cumin and serrano or jalapeno pepper) would also be really good on lots of things.

As you can see from the photos, I tossed some udon noodles with the pesto and made a cold noodle salad (delish) but there are so many other things that could be done with this tasty green stuff. Some other ideas:
-toss with cooked rice and serve warm as a side to grilled meat or let cool and combine with veggies, pieces of cooked tofu or chicken and serve as a salad
-marinade for or dip/drizzle for grilled or baked tofu, fish, or shrimp
-rub under the skin of a roast chicken

This summer I think my basil pesto is in for some stiff competition!

Cilantro Pesto
adapted from Gourmet

2 cups packed cilantro leaves (about 2 medium bunches)
2 tablespoons pine nuts (blanched almonds would also be good)
1 small clove garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon fish sauce (veggie substitute soy sauce)--may want more to taste
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper (I omitted)
1/4 cup mild olive oil

optional:
-a few sprigs of mint--recommended!
-fresh jalapeno or serrano pepper to taste or some dried red chili flakes

Puree all ingredients in a food processor until smooth--just a few minutes. You may have to stop a few times to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Enjoy!

Pea Shoots

2010-04-15T21:38:00.006-05:00

Is there anything more evocative of spring than delicate, baby pea shoots? Maybe pencil-thin asparagus. Or fluffy yellow chicks. Oh and newborn lambs! Ok, so there are lots of springy things out there but I'm going to try to focus on pea shoots for a bit since they're my most exciting recent food discovery.

If you haven't ever tried pea shoots I suggest you hightail it to your local farmer's market stat, before the season's over. If you can't find them there, you might also check Asian groceries--it seems pea shoots are common in Chinese cuisine. If you love sugar snap peas like I do you'll be happy to discover that the shoots taste, well, pretty much exactly like sugar snap peas! Their leafy texture, though, suggests different types of preparation.

Just picked and very young, delicate shoots can be eaten raw as a salad or mixed in with other salad greens (try an Asian-inspired dressing with rice vinegar, ginger, and sesame oil). More mature shoots are great chopped or torn into smaller pieces and quickly sauteed or stir-fried in a little oil and garlic, just enough to wilt and tenderize (word of caution--these little guys shrink to almost nothing when cooked so start out with a lot more than you think). You can tell a mature shoot by the presence of a spring-like coiled tendril at its tip which you should take the time to pinch off, otherwise your shoots will stick together in a big, tangled clump no matter how you prepare them. Trust me. Mix cooked shoots in with some soba noodles, small chunks of smoked tofu, and a similar Asian dressing and you have a delicious, easy lunch or dinner in a bowl!

Or, for a Frenchy twist, you can do what I did and make an omelet. Paired with a salad of mixed greens and baby beets and a glass of wine, it made for a taste of spring that made me wish, again, that this season would last forever. Or at least longer than it usually does in Texas!

PS: Now that I'm turned on to these delicious little guys, I'm eager to learn more ways to cook with them. If you're familiar with pea shoots, what's your favorite way to cook and eat them? Please do share.

Springtime Omelet with Pea Shoots
1 serving

1 small clove garlic, pressed or minced
two generous handfulls (maybe two cups) of pea shoots, trimmed, chopped into 2 inch pieces

2 fresh farm eggs, lightly beaten with a splash of milk or cream
1 tablespoon butter
Parmesan cheese, grated, to taste
salt and pepper to taste
optional: a slice or two of prosciutto if you're feeling decadent (I was)

Add half the butter to a small hot pan and when foaming, toss in the garlic and pea shoots, stirring for a minute or two until the leaves wilt. Remove from pan. Add the rest of the butter (and more or oil if you need it) to the pan and when it foams add the eggs. Let cook until the egg begins to harden around the edges of the pan. Spoon the pea shoots over the middle of the omelet, grate cheese over the whole thing, and sprinkle salt and pepper over the top (also add the prosciutto if using). With a rubber spatula, gently fold the omelet in half or in thirds (taco style--my preferred method) and cook a bit longer until the eggs are no longer runny. Turn out of the pan onto a plate and dig in!

Rhubarb Citrus Tart

2010-04-12T11:50:00.008-05:00

I've been intrigued by rhubarb for a while now. Usually disguised as a fruit and featured in springtime desserts, it is technically a vegetable! Despite its unassuming appearance (the stalks look a lot like pink celery), for me rhubarb conjures up romantic notions of times-gone-by. Classic rhubarb desserts seem to either represent good old fashioned Americana (strawberry rhubarb pie) or prim Victorian England (rhubarb fool)--either way they appeal to my imaginary sensibilities.

Curious to know if rhubarb appealed to my real sensibilities as well, last summer while in New York City I bought some from the farmer's market and cooked it up. I stewed it gently for about 20 minutes on the stove with a hefty amount of sugar (rhubarb is very tart and recipes usually temper this by combining it with sweet berries like strawberries and an ungodly amount of sugar, surely canceling out any positive benefits of eating vegetables for dessert!). The resulting compote (is there any less-sexy name for a dessert?) was good, especially spooned over greek yogurt or ice cream, but I knew I could do better.

Although rhubarb doesn't seem to be a popular Texas crop and isn't available in our local Austin farmer's markets, I couldn't resist when I saw some good looking stalks at the grocery store this week. A quick epicurious.com search landed me with this tart recipe and I'm happy to report, it was way better than my first experiment! And much prettier. Admittedly, it is a bit of a cheater recipe, as it calls for a frozen puff pastry crust (which I used despite being a bit appalled by the scary list of ingredients), but I bet you could be a purist and make something equally good if not better if you can pull off a delicate tart crust. As it is, though, this tart makes an impressive and delicious finish for a springtime barbecue, especially when accompanied by some homemade vanilla ice cream. It's deceptively quick and simple to make too, even if you take the time to lay out each thin piece of rhubarb in a precise (ahem) manner. Try it and you, too, will enjoy eating vegetables for dessert, I promise!
P.S.: There have been many other culinary shenanigans around these parts lately including experiments with pea shoots, quick pickling, a glorious roasted chicken, breaking in my birthday BBQ pit, and a very entertaining evening spent attempting to fish a lost dishtowel out from behind my stove with a hanger (PSA: the bottom drawer of your oven is removable people!!!). I'm hoping to write some posts here about all of these noteworthy items and more, so stay tuned...meanwhile, here's a little visual preview: http://www.flickr.com/photos/49251713@N03/

Rhubarb Citrus Tart
based on a recipe from Gourmet, 2009
serves 8

1 cup fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 cup sugar
1 pound rhubarb stalks, thinly sliced on the diagonal (about 1/8" thick)
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

Preheat oven to 400 with rack in middle. In a medium bowl stir together juices and sugar, add rhubarb and let stand, stirring some, for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut puff pastry in half lengthwise and roll out with a lightly floured rolling pin until each measures about 7 x 11 inches (making two smallish tarts instead of one large one increases the crust factor and decreases center soggy pieces). Transfer to a large baking sheet and make a border around each one by scoring (not cutting through) a line parallel to and about 1/2" from each edge. Prick all over the center with a fork.

Strain rhubarb in a colander over a bowl, reserving juices. Top center of each pastry with half of the rhubarb, overlapping the pieces slightly. Bake about 30 minutes or until crust is puffed and golden. Meanwhile, reduce juice in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until you have about 1/4 cup of thick glaze. Brush or drizzle glaze (I didn't use all of it) over the baked tarts and scatter orange zest over the top. Enjoy!

le radish

2010-04-04T16:07:00.003-05:00

Did you know the radish plant is edible in its entirety? I've always tossed the prickly leaves, assuming they aren't good to eat but lately I've heard some rumors about them that make me want to change my wasteful ways. That and the fact that I just harvested my first spring radishes from my little garden and its seems doubly wrong to throw away something I've grown myself. These little guys were supposed to be long, elegant, bi-color french breakfast radishes but some of them turned out kinda short and stout (appropriate given who grew them!). I ate them in a salad today, setting the tops aside for some future use (perhaps chopped and mixed into another salad?). When I harvest the next round I think I'll try the recipe below (I think it would be a great side for fish or something off the grill).

Sautéed Radishes in the French Style
adapted from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper
serves 6

Ingredients:
2 Tblsp unsalted butter
2 bunches small radishes
Salt and fresh ground pepper
1/3 C white wine- she uses Vermouth
Pinch of sugar
2 Tblsp chopped fresh tarragon

Directions: Heat butter in a 12” skillet over medium high heat. Clean and halve radishes lengthwise, discarding only the leaves that were slimy or yellow. Leave tails intact as well. Throw them into the pan and give a good sprinkle of salt and pepper. Sauté for about 3 minutes. Add the wine or Vermouth and sugar continuing to cook until the liquid has disappeared. Toss the radishes with the tarragon and a bit more butter if desired.

Meemaw's Tzimmes

2010-03-31T21:33:00.007-05:00

There are some foods we love simply because someone we care for deeply makes them for us. I can think of no better explanation for the fact that I always ate my grandmother’s tzimmes, and loved it, despite being a strict vegetarian for my entire childhood and young adulthood (not for health-related or political reasons, mind you, but a natural distaste for meat). It didn’t hurt, of course, that Meemaw’s tzimmes was also incredibly delicious.

Tzimmes (roughly pronounced sim-mus), is a classic example of European Jewish peasant food—some meat, cooked with some garlic and onion, and stewed for a long time with potatoes, readily available veggies, and maybe some fruit for sweetness. It is simple, honest food that is a comfort to eat and an inexpensive, satisfying meal in one bowl. You would never know it was so simple, however, given its esteemed and sacred position in my family.

We only eat tzimmes at Passover. Let me rephrase that…We used to eat tzimmes at Passover. Someone will probably correct me on this but I really don’t believe it’s been a part of our seder meal for about a decade now, ever since Meemaw, the keeper of all tzimmes secrets, got sick with cancer and passed way. As she was getting older, Meemaw started writing down her recipes and even gave both of her daughters-in-law a handwritten cookbook that included a recipe for tzimmes (as well one for pistachio gelatin salad—a dish apparently in her repertoire which I, sadly, never had the opportunity to sample). Referring to this list of measurement-less ingredients and the sketchy outline of steps that followed as a recipe was really pushing it, however. Perhaps because of the recipe’s lack of precision, but more likely because of the missing singular ingredient (Meemaw), the few attempts family members have made to cook the dish without her always seemed lackluster.

This week while home preparing for Passover I had a strong urge to try my hand at it. Now there’s nothing, really, in my cooking ‘career’ to have led me to believe with much confidence that I could pull off even a passably similar rendition of my grandmother’s fabled dish. First of all, I don’t cook beef (the star ingredient in Meemaw’s tzimmes although some people make vegetarian or chicken versions). Also, unlike other members of the family, I never really paid much attention to what Meemaw was doing in the kitchen, I guess simply because I had not yet developed my own interest in all things culinary while she was alive. So I went into this with a few handicaps, which makes what I’m about to tell you even more remarkable, or perhaps proof of some kind of ghostly intervention from the other side…I made Meemaw’s tzimmes and it was good. Really good.

So good, in fact, that I am going to record my own more detailed version of her recipe here for you, as well as for myself, as a guideline to follow when I try making it again next Passover (or maybe at some other special occasion—some things, after all, must remain sacred). Although the recipe is more detailed, please keep in mind that I have only made this once, with a great degree of trepidation and guesswork and not a whole lot of scientific method, so things might still seem a bit vague and imprecise. Which brings us to the other secret of Meemaw’s tzimmes: it’s a pretty resilient dish and difficult to royally screw up. I’d recommend sticking fairly close to the list of ingredients (don’t throw anything green in there, for G-Ds sake!), but otherwise you can do this to taste, varying amounts here and there as you like. One of the greatest revelations to come out of this process for me, for example, came from deviating from Meemaw’s fuzzy directions to cook the thing on top of the stove (where, according to my mom, she would potchke (mess) with it incessantly) and, instead, cooking it mostly in the oven. In other words, you have my permission to take creative license, as long as you cook it with love. For I think it’s love, cheesy as it may seem, that is the true secret ingredient in Meemaw’s tzimmes, and thankfully, it’s in steady supply and knows no measurements.

Meemaw’s Tzimmes

Recipe inspired by Betty Lee Mason, the inimitable Meemaw

Shout out to Mark Mason for (re)interpreting the recipe and guiding me through the foreign land of beef cookery-thanks Dad!

About 10 or 12 main course servings

1 medium brisket, preferably grass-fed, local, organic, petted-every-day beef (I used a 5.5 lb brisket); you don’t want one that’s trimmed as the ‘fat cap’ is essential to the dish’s, um, lusciousness.

1 large onion, diced plus another ½ an onion for grating with the potato

3 large potatoes (I used plain old baking potatoes), peeled

2 sweet potatoes, peeled, quartered and cut into chunks (maybe 2 inch chunks—not too small otherwise they will just turn to mush)

1 lb. carrots, sliced into rounds (again not too small)

1.5 cups pitted prunes (or to taste)

1 tablespoon or so canola or other high-heat oil

3 cups hot water

1 tablespoon honey

4 tablespoons brown sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon (or more to taste—I’m not a big fan of cinnamon so I used a small amount)

4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered

salt & pepper to taste

optional: 1-2 cups red wine

Use a paring knife to pierce brisket and insert garlic pieces all over on both sides. Salt and pepper the meat. On the stove, over medium-high heat, place a heavy dutch oven large enough to hold the meat in one layer (you can also cut the brisket into two pieces, brown them separately, and then rotate them frequently during cooking to ensure even cooking). You can also use a deep roasting pan with a tight fitting lid. Add oil to the warm pan and brown meat for several minutes on both sides (it’s important not to mess with the meat too much while browning in order to get a good crust on it—when it’s fully browned it will release easily from the bottom of the pan). Remove meat from pan, leaving drippings and add diced onion, stirring until softened. Add optional red wine to the onions or a bit of water and deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with your spoon to release all the good stuff. Return the meat to the pan, cover, and cook over medium heat for about an hour, stirring about every 15 minutes and making sure nothing’s burning.

While brisket cooks do the following:

-preheat oven to 350

-grate the potatoes and ½ onion (Meemaw certainly did this by hand but I used the grater attachment on my cuisinart). Mix together with salt (maybe 1 teaspoon?) and pepper and cover with a thin layer of flour (or matzoh meal if it’s Passover).

-mix honey, brown sugar, and cinnamon into the hot water (this is the liquid you will braise and baste with)

After about an hour of cooking, add about 1-2 cups of the sugar water mixture, cover, and put the whole thing in the oven to cook for about another hour, checking periodically to baste with accumulated cooking liquid or add more if it’s drying out.

When you’ve hit the two hour total cooking mark, remove from oven, pull out the brisket and place on a plate. Form slightly compact balls of the grated potato, squeezing out any excess liquid, and then place them in the hot fat/liquid at the bottom of the baking dish—try not to stir or disturb these grated potatoes during the rest of the cooking process so that they can sit there, gathering fat and flavor and forming a golden brown crust. Return the meat to the dish, covering the grated potatoes and then place the carrots, sweet potato, and prunes on top, adding another cup or so of the sugar water mixture. Cover and return to oven and cook for about another 2 hours, checking frequently (every 15-30 minutes) to stir the vegetables and baste the whole thing with liquid accumulating in the pan. Occasionally flip the meat, especially if you have it cooking in layers. I had plenty of liquid in the pan but if yours seems to dry out and risk burning toward the end of cooking, add some water. You should taste the veggies and cooking liquid too so you can be sure it’s seasoned to your liking.

After about 4 hours of cooking time the meat should be very tender. Remove the whole dish from the oven and pull out the brisket, tenting on a plate with foil for about 10 minutes or until cool enough to slice. Slice across grain with sharp knife and return to pan with vegetables. Season w/ salt & pepper to taste. If you ended up with a lot of liquid, return the whole thing to a 325 degree oven, uncovered, for about ½ an hour. The final result should be a stewy but not soupy tzimmes.

Asian Slaw with Tofu

2010-03-29T12:57:00.005-05:00

For the past week, I have been painting a cabbage in my watercolor class. Spending hours staring at the flowery veggie got me dreaming of some sort of vegetarian version of a chinese chicken salad. Searching the web, I came upon epicurious' "Super Slaw" which got rave reviews. So, I adapted it a bit, cut down the quantity significantly, and just enjoyed a yummy springtime salad.

Ingredients for Dressing:

6 T rice vinegar

6 T vegetable oil

5 T peanut butter (I used chunky)

3 T soy sauce

3 T brown sugar

2 T minced ginger

1.5 T minced garlic

Salad Options:

5 c sliced green cabbage

2 c thinly sliced red cabbage (I just had green)

2 red or yellow bell peppers, cut into matchstick strips (I didn't have this)

2 medium carrots, cut into matchstick strips

8 large green onion, chopped finely

1/2 c cilantro, chopped fresh

*I added some tofu lightly sauteed in bragg's and sriracha.

*You could also add some chopped up peanuts to garnish or sesame seeds.

*Or, possibly add some crunchy noodles crumbled on top.

Rule Breakin' Chicken

2010-03-22T21:49:00.004-05:00

Today I will be breaking a cardinal rule of food blogging and will share with you, verbatim, a recipe blogged elsewhere. Why do I debase myself so? Well, I'm doing it for you, of course! This recipe, from none other than the esteemed David Lebovitz at http://www.davidlebovitz.com/, is just so darned easy and delicious to boot that it practically begs for rule breaking. (As an aside, if you don't already read David's blog, you should, especially if you, like I, enjoy stories of expat life in Paris accompanied by lots of chocolate and ice cream.)

I halved the recipe and used just chicken thighs rather than a whole chicken and it turned out just fine (although if you cook smaller portions you might cut down on cooking time a smidge--after 40 minutes my shallots were a tad more than caramelized if you know what I mean).

This is the perfect dish for anyone who's pressed for time or just too darn lazy to cook. And it's great with a size of lemony orzo and asparagus salad, which I should blog about too but I'm just too darned lazy.

Here's David's recipe...Enjoy!

Roast Chicken with Caramelized Shallots
Serves 4 to 6

Adapted from French Farmhouse Cookbook (Workman) by Susan Herrmann Loomis

I use a whole chicken cut into eight pieces; two legs, two thighs, and I cut each breast piece in half, crosswise, keeping the wings attached. You could also just use eight of your favorite chicken pieces.

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 large shallots, peeled and minced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
One whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
one generous handful of coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC).

2. In a large baking dish, one which will hold all the chicken pieces in a single layer, mix the olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, shallots, and some salt and pepper.

3. Toss the chicken in the mixture, so they're completely coated with the shallots. Turn the chicken pieces so they are all skin side up.

4. Roast the chicken for about twenty minutes, until it starts to brown on top. Turn the pieces of chicken over. Scrape any juices and shallots over the chicken that may be clinging to the pan, and bake for another twenty minutes, or until the pieces of chicken are cooked through and the shallots are well-caramelized.

5. Remove from oven and toss in the chopped parsley, then serve.

Apricot & Raspberry Squares

2010-03-09T09:11:00.007-06:00

After my body finally gave in and I caught Jonah's cold, I was looking for something new and inspiring to bake to cheer me up. I was tempted by Smitten Kitchen's "St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake" but saw that it involved corn syrup and reconsidered. Then I remembered I had Bear Moon Bakery's Raspberry Squares recipe and boy was this a fruitful discovery. So, if you suddenly find yourself nostalgic for Boerne (or for a very cute kitty who lives there) here is a super yummy treat for you.

Raspberry Squares

Source: Bear Moon Bakery, Boerne, Tx

Servings: 9 generous portions

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2 cups flour

1 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 cups jam ( I did half apricot preserves and half seedless raspberry)

- Preheat oven to 350.

- Line 9-inch square baking pan with parchment or aluminum foil.

- Combine butter and sugar thoroughly with an electric mixer (until light and fluffy).

- Add egg, mix well, then add flour and nuts. Mix until incorporated.

- Divide dough in half. Press first half of dough into bottom of pan. Spread jam evenly over top.

- Drop remaining dough in small clumps over the jam.

- Bake in lower third of oven for 35-40 minutes, or until top is golden.

- Cool before cutting into squares. (FYI- Bear Moon cools them, then freezes them before cutting to get a clean edge.)

- Share with friends and family. Beware- These are seriously addicting!

Tofu in Peanut Sauce

2010-03-04T14:52:00.006-06:00

At the ranch with my folks this weekend, I decided it was my turn to make dinner. Too lazy to drive to the store, I opted instead for the challenge of making do with what they had on hand already. A bit of scrounging about led to this list of potential ingredients: one carton of firm tofu (what everyone on a ranch in Texas has in their fridge, right?), some brown rice, and one freshly harvested head of green cabbage (i've never felt more like a murderer than when retrieving this from the garden--it was so precious and alive and then whack! I am ruthless when it comes to food, apparently). The trick was to figure out how to turn this bounty of healthful grub into something I actually might be excited to eat.

Oh, and just to make things even trickier, I discovered that my parents' gas cooktop was mysteriously out of juice. Improvising, I stuck the rice in an electric rice cooker, prepared the cabbage for a quick steam in the microwave, and then attacked the tofu. Using a Deborah Madison recipe as a guide, I decided to press the water out of the tofu, bake it until crisp, and then slather it in a sweet and spicy peanut sauce (in my opinion, pretty much anything is better with peanut sauce). As they say, necessity is the mother of invention...in this case, a very tasty, easy, and quick-to-make invention at that!

Tofu in Sweet and Spicy Peanut Sauce
adapted from Deborah Madison's This Can't Be Tofu!
serves 4-5
1 carton firm tofu, drained and pressed (I'm impatient when it comes to pressing the water out of tofu but it's worth the trouble--helps it crisp when baked)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup peanut butter (could also try tahini, almond, or cashew buter)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons light brown sugar (can use white, or maybe honey or agave)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or hot chili oil
2 scallions, chopped (I didn't have--used a small amount of regular onion)
1/3 cup water or stock

Preheat oven to 375 (350 if you have a convection oven)
Slice drained tofu into 1/4 inch slabs and place on cookie sheet coated with baking spray (or a little canola or other cooking oil). Bake for 15 minutes, flip each piece of tofu over, and bake for another 15 or until crispy and browned but not burned.

Meanwhile combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a food processor (I used a hand-held blender) and puree until smooth. When the tofu is finished, place it in one layer in a small casserole or baking dish and pour the sauce over it. Return to oven at 350 and bake for about 5-10 minutes until the sauce is reduced and slightly thickened. Remove from oven, garnish with cilantro, scallion, sesame seeds, etc. to taste, and serve!

Ridiculous Double Chocolate Tart

2010-02-26T20:56:00.003-06:00

Given the choice between sweet and savory, I prefer not to choose. But, if I absolutely must, I suppose I've always been a savory girl at heart. The chocolate tart I made this week, though, might just have forced me over to the dark side.

A month or so ago a measuring mishap (usually what results when I attempt to bake) saddled me with a few dozen too-buttery-to-eat chocolate cookies. Not one to waste any food that might even be passably edible, I decided to freeze them, thinking I'd eventually use them to make a cookie crumb crust or something. Let's just say that frugality has its rewards. Ground up in the food processor and then pressed into a tart pan with a removable bottom, these cookies made just the right foundation for a deep, dark, ridiculously rich chocolate tart.

I copied the filling from a recipe from Smitten Kitchen, one of my fave food blogs. Check it out here: http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/11/dark-chocolate-tart-with-gingersnap-crust/. I promise you will not be disappointed with any of Deb's recipes! I usually like my chocolate unadulterated, particularly when it comes to additions like cinnamon but here it works. If you make this, and I highly suggest you do, don't forget the dollop of softly whipped cream to, you know, cut the richness of the chocolate.

Ridiculous Double Chocolate Tart

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 10 servings

Crust:

about 1 1/2 cups of chocolate cookie crumbs (maybe those nabisco wafers you make icebox cake out of?) plus 1/2 stick salted butter melted

OR
8 ounces gingersnap cookies (about 32 cookies), coarsely broken
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) salted butter, melted

Filling:
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used a bag of chocolate chips, no chopping)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Softly whipped cream, for serving

For crust:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Finely grind gingersnap cookies in processor (yielding 1 1/2 to 1 2/3 cups). Add melted butter and process until moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Place pan on rimmed baking sheet.

For filling:
Combine finely chopped bittersweet chocolate and heavy whipping cream in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk over low heat until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove saucepan from heat. Whisk egg yolks, egg, sugar, flour, ground black pepper, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl to blend. Very gradually whisk chocolate mixture into egg mixture until smooth and blended. Pour chocolate filling into crust.

Bake chocolate tart until filling puffs slightly at edges and center is softly set, about 30 minutes. Transfer to rack. Cool tart in pan 20 minutes. Gently remove tart pan sides and cool tart completely.

Cut tart into thin wedges and serve with softly whipped cream.

Lentil Minestrone Soup

2010-02-21T13:50:00.003-06:00

It's a delightfully sunny day here in Austin (I'm writing this outside, barefoot, and in a t-shirt) but it's been cloudy and cold for days now. Perfect soup weather. Which is why I whipped up this lentil soup on Friday and have been enjoying it ever since.

Although they tend to wreak havoc on my digestive system (sorry, TMI, I know), I really love lentils and I eat them anyway. As beany things go, they take such little effort--no soaking required--and they cook up in no time which is a major plus in my book. I learned not too long ago that there are several different varieties of lentils available. The common brown lentils that you can get in a bag at the grocery store are the ones I'm most familiar with. They tend to soften a lot and break apart as they cook making them great for thick lentil soup. French green lentils are smaller and stay more intact when cooked--I like using them for salads and I chose them for this soup because I wanted it to be more minestrone-like and brothy. But really, any lentil will do.

This recipe comes from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, a great inspiration source for vegetable recipes for both veggies and meat-eaters alike. Although I pretty much followed the recipe to a T (!! perhaps a first!!!), it's ripe for improvisation. Toss in a few more veggies if you have some hanging around (I added mushrooms). Meat eaters might want to saute some chopped pancetta in with the veggies or some fresh sausage. Spice variations would be just fine too--I'd definitely recommend the addition of some crushed red pepper or fresh peppers for some spice. Like most any soup, this one gets better with age so enjoy it the day after you cook it, and the next day, and the next...

LENTIL MINESTRONE
(4-6 servings)

2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra to finish
2 cups finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped parsley
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3 carrots, diced
1 cup diced celery
salt and pepper
1 cup French green lentils, sorted through for rocks and rinsed
Aromatics: 2 bay leaves, 8 parsley branches, 6 thyme sprigs
9 cups water or veggie stock (I used water)
Mushroom soy sauce to taste (didn't use)
1 bunch greens (I used chard but could use mustard, broccoli rabe, spinach, kale)
2 cups cooked small pasta (shells, orecchiette, etc.)
shaved or grated Parmesan

Heat the oil in soup pot with the onion. Saute over high heat, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 10 mins. Add tomato paste, parsely, garlic, vegetables, and 2 teaspoons salt and cook 3 minutes. Add lentils, aromatics, and water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer partially covered for 30 mins. Taste for salt and add pepper. Add soy sauce to taste. (soup may taste a little bland at this point but it gets more flavorful w/time). Remove from heat and remove aromatics.

Boil the greens in salted water until they're tender and bright green. Remove, drain, and chop coarsely. Just before serving add the cooked pasta and greens to the soup and heat through. Serve w/cheese and olive oil drizzle, fresh herbs to taste.

Slammin' Salmon

2010-02-15T20:03:00.003-06:00

I know it's practically sacrilege to admit this but I'm not a huge fan of the salmon. It's just usually too, well, salmony. I've been known to make exceptions for the fresh caught wild Pacific salmon in the Bay Area and I've recently, finally, developed a taste for lox. But salmon in a can is still a really hard sell. I want to like it. I try, I really do--it's just so darned economical and good for you! Over a year ago now I split a six pack (Costco!) of canned, wild Alaskan salmon--the really good boneless, skinless kind--with my sister, thinking they'd be a handy protein source to have on hand in the pantry. And until today that's where they have been, silently mocking me and my over-eager "you gotta spend to save" Costco ways. Well, I'm glad to report that I have won the battle of the salmon yet again folks, all thanks to an Eating Well recipe (they've had a slew of real winners lately, you should check it http://www.eatingwell.com/).

It's a salad, hardly what you might call a real recipe, but it's a bit out of my normal salad pattern and possibly yours too so I'll go ahead and post the full write-up. The combo of root veggies and salmon make it hearty enough for my winter dinner needs but it would also perfectly round out a fancier meal with a bowl of soup and some hearty bread. So don't be afraid, dig out that dusty can of salmon--I promise, this is good!

Salmon & Roasted Vegetable Salad
(4 servings)

Ingredients

6 cups cubed (1/2-inch) peeled root vegetables, such as potatoes, turnips, carrots and beets
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard (used Dijon but I think the whole grain is a better choice)
1 teaspoon minced anchovy fillet or paste
8 cups mixed salad greens ( I used Romaine 'cause I like my salads crunchy)
2 6- to 7-ounce cans boneless, skinless wild Alaskan salmon, drained and flaked
2 scallions, sliced (I omit)

Preheat oven to 450°F.
Toss root vegetables in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Spread in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes. Stir and continue roasting until soft and golden brown in spots, 13 to 15 minutes more.
Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, vinegar, garlic, mustard, anchovy and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon each pepper and salt in a large bowl. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the dressing in small bowl. Add the salad greens to the large bowl and toss to combine; divide among 4 dinner plates.
When the vegetables are done, transfer them to the large bowl and gently combine with the reserved dressing, salmon and scallions. Top the greens with the salmon and vegetables.

Mama's Minestrone

2010-01-30T16:32:00.004-06:00

So maybe this recipe isn't a Jill Mason original, but when I eat minestrone soup, I think of my mom. Growing up there were a few of my mom's cooking creations I loved most (I'm surely omitting several here): her spinach lasagna, salmon cakes, creamy potato and leek soup, sauteed okra, tofu stir-fry and minestrone soup. Ok, to be completely truthful, I believe Mom more often made a simple vegetable soup, rather than minestrone – but she recently has been making this recipe. And change can be good.

I like enjoying the soup right off the stove, but also love eating it cold out of the fridge the following day(s). I plan to make the soup tomorrow and hope to post some (authentic) photos then... Reading through the recipe makes me think I may adjust the timing/order of when certain veggies are added after preparing it myself... Stay tuned!

Recipe from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food:

MINESTRONE

(Prepared as the Fall version with Kale & Butternut Squash)

Cook:

1 cup dried cannellini or borlotti beans (will have to post the how-to later)

This will yield 2 1/2 to 3 cups of cooked beans. Reserve the cooking liquid.

Heat in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat:

1/4 cup olive oil

Add:

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

2 finely chopped celery stalks

Cook for 15 minutes or until tender/rich golden brown. Add:

1 bunch kale, stemmed, washed, and chopped

1 small can of tomatoes (my mom adds more), drained and chopped

4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon chopped rosemary

1 teaspoon chopped sage

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons salt

Cook for 5 minutes longer. Add, and bring to a boil:

3 cups water

When boiling, add:

1 small leek, diced

1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 2 cups)

Continue cooking until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Taste for salt and adjust as necessary.

Add the cooked beans, along with:

1 cup bean cooking liquid

Cook for 5 minutes. If the soup is too thick, add more bean cooking liquid. Remove bay leaf.

Serve in bowls, each one garnished with:

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon or more grated Parmesan cheese

Cheese Blintzes by Jill

2010-01-26T21:32:00.009-06:00

I haven't made blintzes in years. It always seems a daunting task. But we celebrate Nisa's 30th birthday just once, so it seemed worth the trouble for her morning after brunch. (And they are really delicious with champagne mimosas!)

To save time I created the blintzes the day before, covered them in the fridge overnight, then just fried them that morning so they would be hot. Blintzes keep beautifully in the refrigerator, and freeze well, also. Just thaw and then fry. YUM!!

This recipe makes about 3 dozen crepes in an 8 inch crepe pan or nonstick frying pan. That feeds a lot of people (2 blintzes is an average serving), so you can easily halve this recipe.

So...here's what you need to know to create your own Jewish soul food!

CHEESE BLINTZES

Preparation: 2 hours Cooking: 30 minutes

Cheese Filling:

2 lbs farmers cheese or dry curd cottage cheese 2 tbs sugar

1/2 lb cream cheese 2 - 4 tbs cinnamon (to taste)

4 egg yolks 2 tsp grated lemon zest (optional)

salt to taste raisins (optional)

Allow cheeses to stand until room temperature. Mash with fork. Add egg yolks, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon zest, and raisins (if using). Blend.

NOTE: So much of our particular tastes have to do with the way our own mother's cooked. My mother and grandmother didn't use cream cheese, so the filling was dryer. Some cooks don't use cinnamon at all. My mother-in-law always used raisins but my mother never did. So, I make some with raisins (for my husband) and some without (for me).

Batter:

2 c water 8 eggs

2 c flour 3 tbs melted butter

2 tsp salt

Add water to salt and eggs. Add melted butter and flour gradually. Mix in blender or hand mixer. Let batter stand for 20 or 30 minutes. Lightly grease skillet with butter. Place skillet over a moderately high flame. Pour about a 1/4 cupful (more or less) of batter into skillet, making sure that the batter completely, but barely, covers the bottom of the skillet. Fry until the blintze begins to "blister" and the edges curl away from the skillet. The top still may be slightly moist. Turn out onto wax paper, fried side up. It may be necessary to tap the edge of the skillet against the counter to get the crepe out. The skillet must be greased slightly after each blintze is made. Make up a number of these and then put in the filling. You may need to thin the batter with a little water as it will thicken as it sits. Place a large rounded tablespoon of filling in the center of each crepe (on the browned side). Fold the blintze over the filling making a little package. Fry in a liberal amount of butter until brown on both sides. You can also brown in butter in the oven. Serve with sour cream and preserves, fruit compotes, or applesauce.

Enjoy,

Jill

Something Simple and A Challenge

2010-01-22T19:11:00.005-06:00

Well, here I am again, doing my part to keep this little blog alive.

While savoring a delicious, healthy and quick-to-cook dinner just now, I just had to blog about it. Granted, this quinoa taco-type salad is not glamorous (certainly not when photographed mid-meal!), and won't earn me foodie points, but it's the perfect thing to make when you're (relatively) poor, hungry, and lazy like me!

I think I'm going to keep posting here this year with things I make for myself on a regular basis--foods that are easy and cheap to make but tasty and good for me too. I challenge the rest of you to post your go-to foods here, no matter how humble. I bet we all could use some everyday, real world food inspiration and I think it would be really interesting to see our collective staples.

Back to the recipe...I'm sure you already make something like this so may this simply be inspiration for you to pull out that jar of quinoa, can-o-beans, and whatever veggies are sadly mouldering in your fridge and get to cookin. This made enough for a generous dinner for two, plus a little extra quinoa. All measures and ingredients are totally variable so get creative and make this fit your personal tastes and needs.

A quinoa-esque version of Taco Salad

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water

about 1 tsp canola oil
half an onion, diced
one carrot, diced
about half a can of black beans, rinsed (you can freeze the rest for the next taco salad night)
maybe half a teaspoon ground cumin
two shakes of dried oregano
lettuce, shredded (I used two large romaine leaves)
one avocado, sliced
your favorite salta (I use Herdez salsa casera, my fave from a can)
cheddar cheese (or other cheese you like)
salt to taste

Rinse the quinoa in a strainer under running water until it's no longer foamy and place in a medium pot. Add the water to the pot and bring to a boil then cover and reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the canola oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. When the oil is hot add the onion and saute for a few minutes until starting to soften. Add carrot as well as cumin and oregano. Saute until just soft and then add the beans, stirring until it's hot (I also added some salsa for flavor). When it's all heated and cooked thoroughly, remove from heat and cover until ready to eat.

To serve, top a serving of quinoa with spoonfuls of the beans and veggies and then grate cheese over it to taste. Top with shredded lettuce, avocado, and more salsa. Enjoy!

Bowl Food, Late Summer

2009-09-05T19:23:00.003-05:00

Risotto was my first introduction to Italian food. Sure I grew up eating spaghetti and lasagna just like all of us, but it wasn't until my mom's friend Claudia introduced us to risotto that I got a taste of the real deal. As I recall, Claudia's dad was an Italian opera singer so really, how much more authentically Italian can you get? Since Claudia's risotto some 15 years ago now, I've chalked up quite a few memorable risotto experiences...massive overcooked heaps of the stuff in my co-op in college, a toothsome wild mushroom version at a fancy restaurant in Canada complete with a rusty nail (rest assured, I got a free dessert!), and, most memorably, a winter squash and gorgonzola masterpiece in the Po River valley of Italy, regional home of risotto. Versatile enough to make a satisfying meal-in-a-bowl (my favorite kind of meal) in pretty much any season, risotto might just be my ultimate comfort food.

The recipe that follows is my risotto tribute to late summer, featuring chard, tomatoes, basil and topped off with a poached egg and some creme fraiche (decadent and optional--just happened to have on hand--recipe soon!). It probably goes without saying that you can riff on this to your hearts desire...in lieu of a poached egg top with grilled shrimp or chicken, etc. The possibilities are truly endless. **Also a disclaimer--I'm not sure if this recipe or my instructions will pass muster with you "real" Italians so please feel free to correct my technique or amend the recipe!

Late Summer Risotto
serves 4

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 small minced onion
4 cups chicken or veggie stock
1 cup Arborio or Carnaroli rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 a bunch of chard (about 4 big leaves) stalks separated from leaves, both relatively finely chopped
4 roma tomatoes
1/2 cup peas (frozen is fine, thawed and drained)
fresh basil (about a handfull)
2 tablespoons creme fraiche (optional)
parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Place stock in medium pot, cover and bring to a simmer. Heat butter or oil in another large heavy pot over medium low heat. Add diced onion and saute until soft and translucent. Increase heat to medium and add rice, stirring until you can see a white dot in the center of the grains of rice--maybe 3 minutes. Stir in wine and continue stirring until wine is absorbed. Start ladling in simmering stock, about a cup at a time, stirring between additions and waiting until liquid is fully absorbed before adding the next cup. When you have only a few cups of stock left, add the chard stems and begin tasting the rice--you want it to be tender but still firm. When the rice is just about finished stir in a little more stock with the remaining greens, peas, and about half the tomato and basil. Remove from heat and fold in creme fraiche (or a little bit of butter) and about 1/4-1/2 cup grated parmesan. Let it rest a few minutes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve risotto topped with remaining tomatoes, basil, more grated cheese and your protein of choice.

Buffaloaf

2009-08-31T10:36:00.004-05:00

Unlike such 1950s-era staples as salmon patties and tuna noodle casserole, meatloaf wasn't a Mason family staple growing up. Despite my dad's nostalgia for the infamous "burploaf" of his youth, I guess Mom's red meat averse ways prevailed and nary a loaf graced our table. Until Dad morphed into the Great White Hunter a few years ago, that is, and we all had to deal with an over-abundance of ground venison. A few pounds of the stuff even came with me on my move to Austin for grad. school and I enjoyed a few semesters' worth of venison meatloaf experimentation.

I've come to discover that meatloaf has a lot going for it, indeed. Versatile enough to anchor a simple meal with a few sides, to top pasta in lieu of meatballs, or sandwich between slices of crusty bread for lunch, it can be made in advance, reheated, and even frozen in single portions for busy times ahead. Basically this picky little former vegetarian girl has turned into a full-fledged meatloaf fan. So much so, in fact, that finding myself out of venison, I went out and bought a pound of ground bison yesterday and a new iteration was born...the buffaloaf!

Much like venison, bison is a lean meat, and one that I feel comfortable eating knowing that it once lead a charmed grass-fed, feed lot free life. Aside from fat content, I think it cooks up pretty much just like beef and lends itself well to anything that would normally feature a giant hunk-o-cow. If you can't get your hands on some buffalo, I think ground turkey or, of course, regular old ground beef would be just as tasty.

The recipe that follows, adapted from Gourmet, yields a relatively mild loaf, traditionally seasoned with parsley and Worcestershire sauce. Although this first attempt came out with pretty tasty results, I'm looking forward to future buffaloaf experimentation and some more adventurous flavor combinations. A few possibilities that come to mind: a roasted Hatch or poblano chili version, a more flavorful Italian version with porcini and more fresh herbs, and an Asian take with fresh ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic-chili sauce and a little corriander.

Buffaloaf
serves 4-5 hungry folks

1/2 cup diced onion
1 diced celery rib
1 smallish carrot, diced
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
3 teaspoons vegetable or olive oil (I used olive)
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs (preferably freshly made)
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 egg
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt (you may want a little more--I did but I like salt)
freshly ground black pepper
1 lb ground bison (or venison, turkey, etc.)
6 plum tomatoes, cut into wedges* optional
a few sliced shallots* optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

Cook onion, celery, carrot, and garlic in 2 teaspoons oil in large skillet over moderate heat until onion is softened. Transfer to a large bowl, let cool a bit, and stir in breadcrumbs, parsley, egg, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper (to taste). Add meat and stir (or mix with your fingers--way more fun!) until just combined. Form mixture into an oval loaf and place on baking sheet or into a loaf pan. If you want, mix tomatoes and shallots with the remaining oil and some salt and pepper and scatter on top of loaf. Bake in the middle of oven for about 1 hour or until thermometer inserted into center registers 160 degrees F. Transfer to a platter and let rest 10 minutes before serving.

In Praise of Summer, Eating with Your Fingers and Corn

2009-08-24T10:25:00.011-05:00

So I'm just going to gloss over the lame excuses (house buying, grad schooling...) for why it's been over a year (!) since I last posted here and get right down to brass tacks with the real subject of this post. And that subject is, in a word, corn. "Mexican" style, grilled over the coals, slathered up in spicy goodness corn on the cob, to be specific.

Despite being a bit freaked out by corn since reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, as well as by its frightening ability to remain virtually intact after passing through my entire digestive system, I still love it. Any food that requires eating with your fingers gets an automatic two thumbs up in my book! I can pass up a soggy, over-boiled sorry excuse for corn on the cob any day but serve it to me grilled, preferably with fresh mint and some butter and it's over.

As if I need another excuse to cast my morals aside for a good bite, this recipe for "Mexican" style grilled corn comes along. **Small yet important caveat here: I have not actually made this recipe--I, sadly, have no grill! I have, however, had the immense pleasure of eating it leftover from a recent grill-o-rama at the Mason parentals. The cold, bedraggled leftover version was so lip-smackingly and finger-lickingly good that I can only imagine how delish the real deal is straight off the grill. So fire up those coals (or propane tanks), grab yourself some corn (preferably from your local organic farm stand), slather it up with this goodness and invite me over!

Mexican-style Grilled Corn

*recipe from Cooks Illustrated

veggie oil for grill

1/4 cup regular or light mayonnaise

3 tablespoons sour cream

3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

1 medium garlic clove minced or passed through press

3/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

4 teaspoons juice from 1 lime

1 oz grated pecorino romano (or Cojita cheese for more authenticity)

4 teaspoons veg oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/4 teaspoon table salt

6 ears of corn, husk and silk removed

1) Get your grill ready (coals fully ignited and partially covered w/ash...about 20 mins). Arrange coals evenly only on half the grill, place grate over the coals and cover, heating grate about 5 minutes. Scrape grate clean w/brush and then oil w/veggie oil soaked paper towel.

2) While grill is being prepared, combine all ingredients in list up through the cheese in one bowl, reserving 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder. In another (large) bowl mix together the oil, salt, and the reserved chili powder. Toss corn into this oil mixture and coat evenly.

3) Grill corn, turning some, until lightly charred all over, 7-12 minutes. Remove from grill, toss in bowl with mayo mixture until evenly coated. Enjoy!

**apparently you can do this on a gas grill too: turn on all burners on high and heat grill with lid down until v. hot (15 minutes). Scrape and oil grill and cook the corn with the lid down.

**image source: http://expectingrain.com/dok/jpg/CobDylan.jpg

The Best Buttermilk Biscuits. Ever.

2009-04-09T01:49:00.010-05:00

Sometimes I really surprise myself. I can't believe these actually came out of my oven. So buttery, so soft, so crisp, so flaky... So... so PERFECT!And actually pretty easy! Please make them! Eat them hot with honey and butter. Or add more sugar and top a cobbler with them. But please do make them, you'll never regret it.

Buttermilk Biscuits
2 c (260 g) flour plus more for work surface
2 teaspoons (10 g) baking powder
1/2 (2 g) teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon (15 g) sugar*
4 tablespoons (50 g) butter, cut into small chunks and chilled
3/4 c plus 1 tablespoon (200 g) buttermilk
5 cm round cookie-cutter or small glass

Preheat oven to 500°F (260°C). Whisk together the 2 c flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Rub and mix in butter with your finger tips until mixture resembles coarse crumbs of varying sizes, but none larger than a pea. (Or pulse in with food processor, just make sure not to over process). Stir in buttermilk until dough comes together in a ball.

Turn dough mixture out onto floured work surface. With floured hands, lightly knead dough only a few times. Gently pat out into a circle about 1 inch (25 mm) thick. Dip cutter or glass into flour and push straight down into the dough but do not twist the cutter. Form the dough scraps into an extra biscuit with your hands. Place biscuits together on a parchment-lined baking sheet so that the sides are touching. Brush tops with melted butter, if desired.

Bake for 5 minutes at 500°F (260°C) then lower oven temp to 450°F (230°C) and continue to bake until they are golden brown, about another 5 minutes.

*For sweeter, scone-like biscuits that make a mouth-watering cobbler topping, use 1/4 c (50 g) of sugar here.

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

2009-02-20T07:58:00.010-06:00

Here's another sneak peek at what's to come in the book. Neither okra or file powder are easy to come by in Italy, but the good news is that not all gumbos require either of these ingredients. The trick to any good gumbo is a thick, hearty roux... which is a tedious process of ceaseless stirring, best accompanied by a good book and a glass (make that a bottle) of wine. The whole recipe takes a good 4 hours, but a lot of it (after the roux) is hands-off, and you can abandon your bubbling brew and attend to more pressing matters. It's a great rainy-weekend recipe, and definitely worth the trouble.

1 cup vegetable oil (230 ml)
1 1/4 c flour (150 g)
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 green bell pepper, chopped fine
1 large celery stalks, chopped fine
8 c water
1 cup dry white wine
2 bay leaves
2 large garlic cloves, finely diced
2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 can whole peeled tomatoes
1 roasted chicken*, about 4 lbs (180-200g)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 lb (250 g) andouille sausage, cut into 6 mm slices
3 chopped green onions
1 handful chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning (see recipe, below)

First make a chicken broth, if you wish to skip this step you can use boullion instead, but you’ll lose some flavor. Separate the cooked chicken meat from the bones and chop into large chunks, set aside. Put the bones, skin and carcass in a pot and cover with about 2 liters of water. Add the scraps from your vegetables (onion skins, celery greens, etc) and boil for about 20 minutes to make a broth. Strain, discard carcass, and set broth aside.
In a large heavy Dutch oven, combine the oil & flour over medium heat stirring constantly for about 25-30 minutes, to make a dark brown roux. Be very careful not to burn, you must stir constantly.
Add the onion, bellpepper & celery and cook, stirring often, for about 10 minutes or until soft. Stir in the tomatoes, wine, and about 2 liters of broth. Add the bay leaves, garlic & thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered for 1 1/2 hours. Stir occasionally.
Add sausage and a tablespoon of Cajun seasoning, continue to simmer for about 30 minutes.
Season the chicken with Worchestershire sauce, Cajun seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste Add chicken and cook on low heat for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Check seasonings. Add more salt & cayenne if necessary. Add the green onion & parsley. Serve immediately in soup bowls over steamed rice.

*You can buy a pre-roasted chicken to save time but it’s very easy to do yourself. Just rub a chicken with oil, salt and pepper, and bake at 165°C for 45-60 minutes, or until juices run clear when poked with a knife

Cajun Spice Blend

1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp paprika
1/2 Tbsp ground black pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp red pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano

Mix all spices together, adjusting to taste. Store in an airtight container.

New England Clam Chowder

2008-12-03T11:46:00.011-06:00

I'm neither from New England nor particularly fond of clams, but I made this soup strictly in the interests of "research," and was very impressed. It's quite simply delicious. So here's a little sneak peak of the many American recipes to come!
New England Clam Chowder:
Serves 4
2 kg medium clams (5-7 lbs, the more the merrier)
100 g (3 oz/ 4 slices) bacon, cut into chunks*
30 g (1/4 c) flour
3 medium red-skinned potatoes (about 650 g), rinced and diced medium
1 large yellow onion, small dice, peel and scraps reserved
1 medium celery stalk, small dice, peel and scraps reserved
1 medium carrot, small dice, peel and scraps reserved
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 cups water
1 large bay leaf
1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme1/2 c cup heavy cream or half and half
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Table salt and ground black pepper

Rinse the clams and place in a large soup pot over high heat with 3 cups water and the vegetable scraps. Cook, covered, until clams open, about 5 minutes. Discard any clams that remain closed.
Remove clams from shells and finely dice, discarding the shells and vegetable scraps. Strain broth to remove any sediment and set aside.
Rinse out soup pot and return to medium heat; cook the bacon until lightly crisp, about 8 minutes.

Add the bay leaf, onion, celery and carrot, and cook, stirring occasionally for about 7-10 minutes. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 2-3 minutes. Slowly add the reserved broth, whisking constantly.
Add potatoes and thyme; simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Add clams, cream, parsley, and salt (if necessary) and ground pepper to taste; bring to simmer. If soup is too thick, slowly whisk in some boiling water until reaching desired consistency.

* If you have non-bacon-eaters in the crowd, cook bacon separately and serve at the end only to who desires the extra flavor.

Sformatino di Zucca: Silky, Savory, Butternut Flan

2008-11-07T08:20:00.021-06:00

There is certain cooking jargon that can immediately repel me from recipe. These are terms that intimidate and mock me, terms and techniques that spotlight my deepest weaknesses and shortcomings in the kitchen. These are silly little words that will prompt me to toss an otherwise completely-conquerable recipe.

One such nasty expression is "... and then bake in a water bath..."

The pure nonchalance with which it is presented is irritating in itself, the author should at least prime you for the looming intimidation, but no. You're contentedly scanning a perfectly decent and straightforward recipe, taking mental note of the ingredients you'll need, when WHAM!!
"water bath."
First off, my mind goes straight to "bath water" which I don't find very appetizing, especially when it is post-bath. But even when interpreted correctly, it calls up apocalyptic visions of rapidly boiling water in precarious pans capsizing in a scorching oven, pools of runny egg liquid seeping out leaky cracks, third-degree-burns and horrified dinner guests.

Next recipe please.

But I wanted to make a sformatino, which basically means "a-cute-little-something-cooked-in-a-mould-and-then-turned-out-of-it." I had cream on hand, and eggs, and some frozen roasted squash puree' leftover from this soup recipe. I searched online for recipe but kept butting up against the dreaded term everywhere I turned. Over and over again, every recipe I found contained varying amounts of cream and eggs, and the inevitable bath water. Uffa!

So obviously, I decided to get over myself and face my fear, which, like most phobias, turned out to be completely unfounded.
You only need about an inch of water and it hardly even boils, it only serves to keep the temperature low and even so the little custard doesn't curdle. No biggie. Nothing leaked, my dinner guests were not traumatized by the evening and I survived unscathed. When asked for the recipe, I confidently listed ingredients and measurements, saving the best for last as I nonchalantly continued "... and then bake in a water bath for about an hour..."

Savory Butternut Flan

Ingredients:
One large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
1 red onion, peeled and quartered
3 cloves garlic, peeled
4 eggs
1 cup half-and-half
4 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano
6-8 ramekins (I used the disposable aluminum kind)

Instructions:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Grease and flour your ramekins, set aside.
Combine squash, onion and garlic in a large baking tray and toss to coat with some olive oil, salt and pepper.
Roast for about 30 minutes or until squash starts to brown and is really soft when poked with fork. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
Reduce oven temp to 325°F (165°C).
Purée the roasted veggies in a food processor until smooth. Put 2 cups purée in a bowl, then whisk in eggs, half-and-half, cheese, a pinch of salt, and ground black pepper until combined.
Pour the mixture into the prepared ramekins, filling about 3/4 the way up.
Here comes the terrifying part, the dreaded water bath!
Set the ramekins in a large roasting pan with sides at least 2 inches high. Fill a measuring cup with water and slowly fill the pan until the water comes about half way up the sides of the ramekins. Set the pan in the oven and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 45 minutes to an hour. Remove ramekins from water bath and let cool about 5-10 minutes. Invert the flan directly on to serving dishes and eat immediately!

Note: I served these with some sage-seared shrimp, a delicious combination. You could also different vegetables, the possibilities are endless!

Sagra del Tartufo

2008-10-21T12:56:00.035-05:00

It's October again already and Emilio and I felt drawn back to the Sagra del Tartufo in the Langhe area of Piedmonte. We had enjoyed the same festival last fall in the tiny town of Mombercelli, and decided to do a little follow up "research" this year.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of the sagra, allow me to introduce you to these local festivals in Italy that celebrate a rural area’s gastronomic specialty. They resemble small-town’s county fairs, but are dedicated to the area’s favorite food, and usually involve an inexpensive or free mass meal. There is the Sagra della Rana (frogs), Sagra del Porcino (porcini mushrooms), Sagra della Lumaca (snails), Sagra del Pesto, Sagra del Pane (bread), the list is endless. If Italians eat it, you can bet there’s a sagra for it, probably several.

We rolled up our typical one hour late, so only briefly bumbled about the morning market, tasting wines and chatting with various trifolau (truffle hunters) about their work and listening to their trifolau gossip:

"Ahhhh si. I see you've been talking to Giuseppe. Si si.. Giuseppe's great at getting truffles... But only when he BUYS them... Hahahhahaha!"

When the clock struck one o'clock we headed toward the community center gym... We've practically become locals after visiting the village just once before, and we felt we knew are way around. We were seated in the same room as last year, served by the same waitress who remembered the strange foreign girl who didn't eat meat (read: poor me, only eating half of the 7 courses!).

After several glasses of delicious piedmont wine, I was feeling right at home and decided to go check out the kitchen. I just had to see it. This is a 7 course, seated lunch for 460 people, all prepared and served by volunteers, no food service professionals involved. Now that I was a local, I figured

they'd let me right in and check out the scene. And of course they did, not because I was a local but because they thought I was a big shot journalist from America and Milan. They'll be talking about this for years. I dragged Emilio with me and put him right to work tripping over the town's grannies as they slaved over the stoves, asking them to pose for various shots.

Back at the table, the menu continued:

- Salumi and toasted bread with Lardo

- Beef tartare with truffle flakes

- Roasted bell peppers in a tuna sauce

- Chick pea soup

- Veal roast with spinach

- Fried egg with truffle

- Peaches with melted chocolate

- Grappa

By the time we reached the grappa, things were getting really friendly. By now we were best friends with the waitress and I decided the only thing missing was a bit of music. Last year the local marching band (composed of 5 old men) played in our dining room, but I hadn't spotted them yet this year. I excused myself momentarily and sloshed down to the courtyard, where they happened to be passing by at that very moment. I introduced myself and was feeling even more of a celebrity when the trombone player burst out, "Hey! I remember you! Last year you were blonde."

They had been headed toward the main piazza for their next "gig," but with an ounce of pleading I dragged them to our dining room to play us one song as an end to the meal. They cheerfully piped out a jaunty Italian folk number that accompanied us all the way home.

All photos by Emi, of course.

Roasted Red Pepper Chipotle Soup with Mint Crème Fraîche and Golden Cornbread

2008-10-17T07:35:00.019-05:00

Not to toot my own horn, but I made one hell of a dinner the other night. And I have yoga to thank for it.

I was having friends over and I wanted to make something reminiscently American, though revisited. Now that I'm supposed to be some "authority" on American cuisine, folks expect to have a cross-cultural and authentic dining experience at my house. So I can't serve pasta anymore. At least for a while.

I wanted to serve various courses... not a very American tradition, so I was shaking things up right off the bat. So I thought soup. And I thought chipotle. Chipotle is a flavor they just don't have over here in Italy, so when used in the right dosage, it's always a big hit and somewhat exotic. I needed a southwestern vehicle for my chipotle though, and the obvious answer was roasted peppers and tomatoes.

After making the soup I felt like it needed to be dressed up and cooled down a bit. The firey flavor was delicious but needed to be balanced out. I found myself wishing for sour cream (another hard-to-find-in-Italy ingredient), but remembered I had a tub of Crème Fraîche in the fridge. Perfect. It sounds better than "sour cream" but it's basically the same thing, just fattier and a bit less tangy. So I whipped it up with some mint (what's more cooling than mint?) and had my perfect dollop.

I wanted to make a light second course, simple but not boring. "Fish Wrapped in Romaine Leaves" a Mark Bittman recipe, totally enthralled me (check out the video here, or the recipe here). The side dish needed to be downplayed, since the fish was getting a little fancy, so some pan fried potato slices brought it all back home.

So my meal was complete, but something was missing. It wasn't quite American enough, there was nothing THAT particular about it all. So I took a break and did some yoga, something I do when I realize I'm sweating over silly things like side dishes. I was in downward dog, taking mental note of the dust under my bed, when a clear voice from deep inside me declared... "CORNBREAD."

That was it, corn- the most American of vegetables. Cornbread, the most comforting of comfort foods. It married the soup in a lavish yet humble ceremony and tied the whole meal together with southern grace. Hallelujah.

For dessert, personal chocolate lava cakes with raspberries and little American flag toothpicks.

Betsy Ross would have been so proud, not to mention Barbara Bush. My God, what has become of me?

Roasted Red Pepper Chipotle Soup:

8 red bell peppers, cored and quartered

8 tomatoes, cored and cut in half

1 red onion, peeled and quartered

5 cloves garlic, peeled

1 chipotle pepper in abodo sauce (diced with seeds removed)

1 bouillon cube

1 glug of heavy cream or milk

1 avocado (in small cubes, for garnish)

For the dollop:

1 cup Crème Fraîche or sour cream

1 handful mint leaves

First, blend up the mint leaves with the Crème Fraîche, cover and refrigerate.

Arrange peppers, tomatoes (cut side up), onion and garlic in large baking trays. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 400°F (200°C) for about 30 minutes, or until everything looks real roasted. Transfer to a soup pot with a bouillon cube, chipotle pepper, and a little water and let simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring often.

Blend soup with your preferred blending appliance, adding water to arrive at the desired consistency. Transfer back to soup pot and cover until ready to serve.

Right before serving, stir in your glug of cream or milk (this helps cut the acidic flavor of the tomatoes and creates a velvety texture.) Spoon into bowls and top with the mint cream dollop, garnish with a mint leaf and small cubes of avocado if desired.

It is absolutely obligatory to serve with cornbread.

All-Purpose Cornbread (adapted from Cook's Illustrated recipe):

1 1/2 cups (212 g) flour

1 cup (150 g) yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

3/4 cup (100g) corn kernels (they recommended frozen kernels, thawed. I used canned and it was fine)

1 cup buttermilk (I used my faithful substitute, 1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice set aside for 10 minutes to thicken)

2 large eggs

1 stick (110 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Grease 8 inch square baking dish (if you have a cast iron skillet, use it! By all means!). Whisk first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, set aside.

In a food processor, blend brown sugar, corn kernels and buttermilk. Add eggs and blend until well combined; some corn lumps will remain.

Make well in center of dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into well. Fold gently with rubber spatula and add melted butter. Gently and quickly fold mixture together until dry ingredients are just moistened. DO NOT OVER MIX. Mixture will remain lumpy.

Pour into prepared pan and smooth surface with spatula. Bake until deep golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in to the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes before serving.

A lunch in Piedmont

2008-09-26T10:14:00.009-05:00

While my parents were visiting us recently in Italy, we treated them to an experience few foreigners have ever encountered, a traditional lunch in a down-home country trattoria in the Piedmont wine country.
We wound our way through country roads to Carrù, a town definitely off the turist map, best known for it’s beef meat and the following delicacies: carne cruda (raw chopped beef) and il carello dei bolliti (the cart of various boiled meats, and when I say “various,” I mean just about every part of the cow, from the tongue to the tail). We ended up a family-run Trattoria that had been in business for 107 years and was frequented by loyal locals- it’s the kind of place that doesn’t even have a menu, they just bring out the food. We started with a dizzying array of mouth-watering antipasti: roasted bell peppers with crumbled hazlenuts, carpione (fried, tempura-like vegetables dressed with vinegar), insalata russa (“russian salad” of tuna, egg and vegetables), sweet, marinated chestnuts, home-made salami, and of course, raw, chopped beef of which Emilio ate roughly 2 pounds. After all this time, I am now very used to seeing all sorts of strange meat dishes in Italy, and Emilio’s enthusiam for all of them has created a sort of indifferent appreciation in me, notwithstanding my vegetarianism. It was fun for me to witness my parents’ reactions, however, as they were presented with a large plate of what was essentially raw hamburger meat. They did partake, however, and hesitantly admitted it was tasty though unnerving.
After another course of beef ravioli in floating in broth, they finally rolled out the Cart of Boiled Meats, to Emilio’s joy and my parents’ absolute horror. We’re not used to seeing meat that looks like it came from real animals in the US, nor are we used to eating different parts of the animal. So the Cart of Boiled Meats is not very appetizing to Americans, especially the whole boiled chicken with it’s bald head and limp neck, and the dubious-looking boiled cow tail. Emilio was overjoyed, however, and his enthusiasm spilled over to all, helped by the copious, delicious regional wine.

Carrello di Bollito Misto

Sauces for the Bollito Misto

Dessert was hazlenut cake, proudly baked by our waitress, served with zabaglione (an Italian custard-like sauce made with marsala). Then came the much-needed coffee, and the not-so-much needed (though delicious) grappa. We politely asked if they had a Cart of Boiled Customers to wheel us out on, but alas we had to use our own feet to drag ourselves out the door and back to the abandoned twighlight-zone of a town with its creepy, empty amusement park in the main piazza.

The chef and the grappa

Swiss Bread

2008-09-13T05:51:00.005-05:00

Emilio and I adventured on a quick, overnight jaunt to the German side of Switzerland a couple days ago. The drive was heart-breakingly beautiful: the dizzying heights and careening waterfalls of the alps, the ubiquitous soft-eyed cows and the sentimental clanging of their bells, the sweetness of the velvety green foothills and impeccably manicured apple-orchards in the slanted evening light. We were breath-taken, and vowed to wake up at the crack of dawn to take advantage of the endless photographic opportunities.
Well, the crack of dawn ended up turning in to 9 a.m., but it didn't matter anyway since the glittering landscape of the evening before had transformed in to a foggy, drenching, gray, rainy mud festival. So we snapped a few shots and headed straight for the local bakery where we stocked up on an embarrassing amount of bread, yogurt and pastries, and started winding our way back to sunny Italy, snacking and chatting all the way home.

Malakopf Ceviche

2008-07-30T03:34:00.007-05:00

Many of you may recall fondly the killer ceviche that Tonio brought to the Malakopf potluck for our last night in Texas. I, for one, was a member of that shifty-eyed crowd of sharks hovering jealously over the frosty bowl of flavorful fish most of the evening, corn chip poised ever-ready between my fingers. I immediately solicited Tonio for the recipe, which he provided me almost instantly. Thank you Tonio!

Ceviche (A party-size recipe via Diana Kennedy)

Marinate in a glass or ceramic bowl for 4-6 hours, turning occasionally if you remember:

1 lb scallops
1 lb shelled deveined shrimp
1 lb skinned deboned redfish, cubed
Or any mix of fish and/or shellfish you fancy
1 pint fresh lime juice – freshly squeezed at Central Market is too easy to pass up

Add:

kosher salt
fresh black pepper
¾ cup olive oil
dried greek oregano
12 deveined and deseeded jalapenos or serranos, thinly sliced, salmonella be damned…the lime juice should kill it…
1 red onion, finely diced
2 avocados, cubed
6 tomatoes, cubed
bunch cilantro, chopped

Wednesday Night Steak Nite at Waring General Store

2008-07-22T06:45:00.012-05:00

For those of you in the Hill Country area, I highly recommend you stop by Waring some slow Wednesday night. The food may not be the best in the region, but the atmosphere certainly merits the trip. Good music, buckets of beer, and cowboys abound in this funky old gas station and general store. Make the short trip out there, you won't be disappointed and the fellas that run the place will make you feel right at home.

When shall we live, if not now?

2008-06-07T05:39:00.004-05:00

First off, let me apologize for my undue absence from the blog. I have been sucked in to the tornado of everyday life and tossed around in the wind tunnel of lost time. I have been cooking however, and writing, and researching, so I will soon culminate these efforts in to a series of brilliant blog posts.
For now, however, I would like to share with you a quote from M.F.K Fisher's The Art of Eating (thank you Leah!!). It is filled with pearls of food related wisdom and so much more, I highly encourage you all to give it a read some time. This passage reminds me so much of the many loving meals I have relished with close friends and family, from Moneglia to Boerne.
From the Chapter "Meals for Me":

Dining partners, regardless of gender, social standing or the years they've lived, should be chosen for their ability to eat and drink with the right mixture of abandon and restraint. They should enjoy food, and look upon its preparation and its degustation as one of the human arts. They should relish the accompanying drinks, whether they be ale from a bottle on a hillside or the ripe bouquet of a Chambertin 1919 in a great crystal globe on finest damask.

And above all, friends should possess the rare gift of sitting. They should be able, no eager, to sit for hours--three, four, six--over a meal of soup and wine and cheese, as well as one of 20 fabulous courses.

Then with good friends of such attributes, and good food on the board, and good wine in the pitcher, we may well ask, When shall we live if not now?

Indoor Summer Grill

2008-06-04T11:39:00.006-05:00

The past few weeks of early summer have warmed me inside and out; understandably at 100F. I think it must be a case of remnant reverence for summer left over from my childhood, but lately I have overlooked the discomfort of my constant perspiration and focused on the slow sunsets, precious breezes, enthusiasm for swimming and meals prepared and enjoyed outdoors.

Last night, I wanted to celebrate summer and I didn't let anything (the lack of a backyard, outdoor grill and at-ready party of friends) stand in my way. I made a dinner of indoor-grilled hamburgers, chipotle ketchup, zucchini, balsamic onions and roasted asparagus. I used a panini press (George Foreman-style), but you could definitely do all of this on the stove top with a grill pan.

Hamburger
ground beef (natural, hormone-free)
egg
seasoned bread crumbs
Worchestire sauce
finely chopped garlic
salt & pepper

Mix all ingredients together, taking caution not to overwork the meat and form into patties. A little tip: I coated my fingertips with olive oil before forming them into patties to keep the meat from sticking all over me. Grill until internal temp reaches 160F, or to personal liking and standard safety regulations. (Can't ever be too safe, these days.)

Chipotle Ketchup
ketchup
chopped chipotle peppers and their adobo sauce
balsamic vinegar

Combine ingredients to your liking and enjoy with whatever you please.
(I enjoyed it with my hamburger meat and a squirt of dijon mustard.)

Zucchini
zucchini (um...duh)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
chopped garlic
salt and pepper

Cut zucchini lengthwise strips, each about 1/4-inch wide and coat with remaining ingredients. Let marinate at least as long as it takes to cook the hamburgers. Then grill, a handful of minutes on each side.

Onion
yellow or red onion
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Cut onion horizontally into rounds. Toss onion in remaining ingredients and allow to marinate. Add rings/clusters of onion to grill, cooking for a handful of minutes until slightly transparent, or to your liking.

Roasted Asparagus
asparagus
olive oil
chopped garlic
salt and pepper

Trim asparagus of tough flesh from bottom of stalk by bending until they break (best part). Coat in remaining ingredients and cook in oven set to 350F for 8-15 minutes depending on the asparagus and your preference for bite.

I ate my dinner outside, behind the cozy, fenced-in walls of my back patio. My beer bottle was sweating, but - for once - I wasn't. The heat outside matched the heat of the spicy, satisfying meal I just prepared and my skin felt soothingly radiant. Summer's finest offerings can be found indoors and out, with a community and alone, in the city and the country.

Taco Salad

2008-05-29T20:44:00.006-05:00

Intrigued by its dimpled, dark shell and promise of a yellow-green rainbow of silken flesh, I swooped the avocado from its perch on my pantry shelf and made passionate dinner.

The avocado, technically a berry of a flowering tree, was my muse. This seduction is not surprising, given what I just read from Wikipedia:

The word "avocado" comes from the Nahuatl word ahuakatl (testicle, a reference to the shape of the fruit). Historically avocados had a long-standing stigma as a sexual stimulant and were not purchased or consumed by any person wishing to preserve a chaste image. Avocados were known by the Aztecs as "the fertility fruit".

The dish I prepared, a taco salad, is one that appears regularly at my dinner table. The ingredients are staples in my fridge/pantry and the recipe is adaptable to both an ample or a tight budget, depending on your choice to use fresh produce versus canned goods. I find it fresh and satisfying:

Taco Salad

Steak or Chicken (skirt steak or chicken breasts is what I've used)
Olive oil
Meat seasonings with Mexican influence (see below)
Lime juice

Lettuce (I used spinach, but I like it with a crisp lettuce such as romaine)
Black beans
Yellow corn
Tomato
Avocado
Hot sauce

Last night I prepared my steak for grilling by rubbing it with olive oil, soy sauce, garlic powder, cayenne, cumin and oregano. After cooking my meat (grilling, searing or baking), I cut the steak into bite-sized pieces after it had rested, recollecting its juices. I then sprinkled the meat with lime juice.

To assemble the salad, I began by building a foundation of lettuce on my plate, topping it with black beans, corn, steak, chopped tomato and avocado in quantities to my liking. Instead of salad dressing, I topped the lovely pile with ample globs of hot sauce (though I like the idea of a well-paired vinaigrette).

Swallowing the last savory bite of this festive mess of a meal, I exhaled a sigh of satisfaction. My world was momentarily quieted and I felt full. Ahhh, avocado.

Homemade Hummus

2008-05-18T18:20:00.003-05:00

Hummus, the creamy leguminous dip featuring pureed chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans or, in my family, tushie beans) and tahini (sesame seed paste), has become a staple in many American's diets. Calling this undoubtedly Middle Eastern specialty an "American food" probably breaks a million codes of political correctness and smacks of cultural appropriation, but I'm gonna do it anyway. No longer confined to natural food markets, multiple brands of hummus (many flavored creatively with olives, roasted peppers and garlic) can be found in supermarkets everywhere, and hummus sandwiches are featured on most any deli menu...and it's no wonder! Hummus is delish, and good for you too. Good for you, that is, if it's not chock full of additives, gobs of salt and saturated fats, which unfortunately is the case with many of these pre-packaged supermarket hummus options. The good news is that if you have a food processor in your kitchen, healthful and tasty hummus is super easy to make at home (and more affordable too). I just whipped up a batch this afternoon after coming across this great recipe in Cooks Illustrated magazine--a recipe worth making again and again and customizing with your favorite additions. I doubled the recipe to make a big batch and it worked out just fine. Next time around I think I'll play around with some different flavors and garnishes...pinenuts perhaps, or maybe roasted peppers. And a few tips for any of you who might be uninitiated hummus-eaters out there: hummus is a great appetizer/lunch served with pita bread, pita chips (or pretty much any kind of cracker), and crispy raw veggies. It's also a great sandwich filling layered with cheese, roasted eggplant, sprouts or other veggies, or served as part of a Middle Eastern meal with baba ganush, tabbuli, dolmas, etc. The options are many!

Best Hummus

3 tablespoons lemon juice (1-2 lemons)

1/4 cup water

6 tablespoons tahini, stirred well

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle on top

1 14 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

pinch cayenne

1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro or parsley for garnish

1. Combine lemon juice and water in small bowl or measuring cup. Whisk tahini and oil in another small bowl. Set aside a few tablespoons of whole chickpeas for garnish

2. Process chickpeas, garlic, salt, cumin, and cayenne in food processor until almost fully ground, about 15 seconds. Scrape down bowl with a spatula. While machine is running, add lemon juice mixture in a steady stream through the feeding tube. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl and process for about another minute. Again, with machine running, add the tahini mixture in a steady stream through the tube, continuing to process until smooth and creamy, about 15 seconds. You may have to stop to scrape down the bowl again.

3. Transfer hummus to serving bowl or storage container and garnish with reserved chickpeas, chopped herbs, and a drizzle of olive oil. If serving rather than storing, cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about 1/2 hour to let flavors meld. Will last about 5 or so days in the fridge (maybe more).

Classic Cornbread

2008-05-05T09:50:00.009-05:00

2 c. yellow cornmeal

1 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

4 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

1 1/2 c. buttermilk

2 eggs, well beaten

1 stick butter, melted and cooled

Pre-heat oven to 400º.

Melt butter and let it cool.

Mix together all ingredients. (Don't over stir)

Pour into a greased and floured loaf or brownie pan.

Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown & toothpick comes out clean.

Serve with honey butter.

* Add any other goodies you like in your cornbread: chipotle peppers, jalapeno jack cheese, or dried cranberries and pecans.

Lisa's Spring Green Deviled Eggs

2008-04-24T16:05:00.013-05:00

photo by Emi

Zia Lisa is quite often the smiling host of our Super Italian Sunday Lunches. It's almost humiliating how she always seamlessly prepares an infinite number of tasty and diverse treats and courses, apparently without ever breaking a sweat. For those of you who know some of Emilio's family, Zia Lisa (pronounced Leeza) is Zio Alfonzo's wife, Feli's stepmother, and a domestic goddess. Besides being an accomplished graphic artist, she is a magician in the kitchen. She continuously pulls out authentic and delicious family recipes from a seemingly endless supply. Last Sunday she once again delighted us all with a deliciously delicate egg dish.
It's basically a more sophisticated deviled egg, but much more flavorful than our traditional mayo-paprika variety. This recipe comes from the Piedmont region of Italy, which has a particular obsession with capers, an infatuation I firmly advocate. The parsley colors the creamy yolk filling a fresh shade of pale green, perfect for a spring appetizer.

This is the recipe as passed to Lisa by her 86-year-old cousin. They usually ate these at Easter and throughout the Summer.

Ingredients for 20 deviled eggs:
10 whole eggs
Tuna packed in olive oil - 160 grams (about 5.6 oz)
A nice handful of Italian parsley
Capers - 2 large Tbs.
A pat of butter
Mayonnaise - 2 Tbs.
Vinegar
Lemon juice

Hard boil the eggs*, peel and cut them in half lengthwise. Separate the yolks from the whites. If you wish, you can cut a thin sliver off the bottom of the egg white, so it will stay still on the serving platter. With a knife, carefully enlarge the bowls of the egg whites, so more filling can fit. In a food processor or blender, process first the capers with the parsley, then add the butter and the strained tuna. Lastly, add the egg yolks and the vinegar. Pour the mixture in to a bowl and add the mayonnaise. Stir, and add lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Fill the egg whites with the mixture. Chill until serving.

*For a perfect hard boiled egg: Place eggs in a pot and cover them with about an inch of water. Cook over medium heat until they come to a boil. Promptly turn off the heat and let them sit for exactly 7 minutes, then throw them in an ice bath to stop the cooking.

Adesso in Italiano...

DOSI per 10 UOVA INTERE (20 ripiene)
Tonno sott’olio - 160 grammi
capperi – 2 cucchiai abbondanti
Un bel ciuffo di prezzemolo
Una noce di burro
Maionese – 2 cucchiai
Aceto
Succo di limone

Lessate le uova, dividetele a metà, separate i tuorli; se volete, affinché stiano ferme nel piatto di portata, dagli albumi togliete una cupoletta sottilissima dal fondo, Allargare con un coltellino il foro da riempire. Nel tritatutto mettete prima i capperi e il prezzemolo e iniziate a tritarli, aggiungete il burro, il tonno sgocciolato dall’olio e continuate a tritare. Per ultimo aggiungete i tuorli con un cucchiaino di aceto e terminate di tritare.
Versate il composto in una ciotola, aggiungete due cucchiai di maionese. Mescolate bene, eventualmente aggiungete un po’ di succo di limone e farcite le uova.
Meglio servirle fredde.

An American Breakfast

2008-04-12T10:50:00.008-05:00

A pancake breakfast, in my opinion, is a quintessential American meal. Though America certainly has no monopoly on pancakes, "flapjacks" or quick, pan-cooked breads--the French have crepes and the Russians and Jews have blintzes to name just a few international examples--there's something about American pancakes that sets them firmly within our "native" food canon. Maybe it's our predilection for drenching them in maple syrup or molasses that makes pancakes seem so uniquely American. If nothing else, pancakes exemplify the American fondness for extremes, showing up on menus in petite "silver dollars" or giant, plate-dwarfing specimens. We have even exported IHOP (International House of Pancakes), a pancake-based restaurant chain (albeit a mediocre one), to Mexico and Japan. Whether or not we can rightfully claim pancakes as our own, many Americans love nothing more than a weekend morning breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs, though it most often necessitates a post-breakfast nap!

In the USA, pancakes come in many guises, from sweet to savory, buckwheat to buttermilk, but I would venture to guess that the sweet, buttermilk pancake is by far the most common. Buttermilk pancakes are light and airy, cooked to a golden brown color, and are a perfect foil for gobs of butter and maple syrup. Many people love buttermilk pancakes dotted with blueberries or even chocolate chips. Since I grew up in a natural-foods loving home, these kinds of white flour and sugar pancakes were usually just the special stuff of family roadtrips or complementary hotel breakfasts. If we made pancakes, we usually made them from scratch, with some if not all whole wheat flour. These pancakes made for heartier, if marginally healthier, fare.

As little girls, my sister and I occasionally got to spend the night with my parents' friend Grace, who has always gardened, raised chickens, and made things like tofu from scratch. Perhaps our palates were already predisposed to pancakes of the "all-natural" variety, but Grace's were something special. They most certainly were whole wheat, but instead of syrup, Grace served us pancakes with dark old-fashioned molasses. Though I'm sure many kids would have balked, we gobbled them up with a glass of homemade soy milk on the side.

Another family friend, Jeannette, who I got to visit for watercolor lessons for a special treat, once served me a "tea" with her Scottish family's favorite oatmeal pancakes. As an older person interested in food, I have recently become fascinated with the idea of oatmeal pancakes, and the recipe that follows is my latest experiment. They are tender and light, but also a filling breakfast, perfect served with fruit, yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup. The recipe is inspired by a source in Gourmet magazine. Enjoy! And please comment or post with your favorite pancake recipe.

Oatmeal Pancakes

**this recipe is supposed to make 4 pancakes, but I find it makes at least 12

3/4 cup quick-cooking oats (substitute regular rolled oats ground coarsely in the food processor)
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons well-shaken buttermilk, divided
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
canola or veggie oil for frying

accompaniments: maple syrup, plain yogurt, fresh fruit...

Soak oats in 3/4 cup buttermilk for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, soda, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Stir remaining wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until JUST combined.

Heat a griddle or heavy skillet (cast iron is great) over medium heat and brush or coat lightly with oil. When skillet/oil is hot, work in batches to drop about 1/4 cup batter into oil and cook a few minutes until bubbles appear on surface and underside is golden. Flip and cook a few more minutes on other side until golden. Add more oil between batches if needed. Best served hot straight from the pan but can be kept warm in an oven until ready to serve.

Fried Wild Asparagus

2008-03-28T08:58:00.000-05:00

We went on a walk with Zio Micchi while we were down in Moneglia this weekend. For us it was a walk, for Zio Micchi it probably couldn't even be considered a stroll. This man is nimble as a mountain goat, and at 70 years old leaves us all panting in his dust. We were on a rocky hilltop, gazing down at the stunning view of the Mediterranean, when something caught my eye. "That plant looks exactly like asparagus!" I giggled.
"That's because it is!" replied Zio Micchi, explaining that once, wild asparagus grew on all the hilltops around Moneglia, but has long since been over-harvested in the areas closest to town. We collected a few stalks, which he gingerly wrapped in his handkerchief to present to his wife (Zia Marghe) upon our return. "Just wait and see how delighted she is!" he winked.
Indeed she was. She immediately went to work washing the stalks, coating their tips first in flour, then dipping them in some beaten egg and frying them in olive oil. The result (need I even say it?) was mouthwatering. The flavor was different than domesticated asparagus, it was more delicate and balanced, with garlicky and nutty overtones. They were devoured enthusiastically by all, and I instantly understood the reason for their disappearance from nearby hill-tops. I would certainly eat them every day if they were so close within reach.

Focaccia Genovese (An Italian Parenthesis)

2008-03-26T09:48:00.010-05:00

So, I know I've been requesting American recipes, but It's funny, I recently clicked on the "Italian" category of this blog and was astonished at how under-represented is my current cuisine of residence. In fact most of the (very few) Italian recipes on this site have not even been published by me, which is pretty lame considering I've lived here for 4 (!!!) years now. So I decided to make a quick Italian parenthesis to recount a few things I learned this weekend.
Emilio and I went down to his family's vacation home on the Ligurian coast for Easter weekend. These are always culinary journeys, considering his family who loves to cook and delights in my curiosity. Zia Marghe taught me how to make Focaccia, which was (surprisingly) quick and easy, yet (not surprisingly) delicious. She says the trick is to have a really hot oven, she actually prefers to bake it in her toaster oven.

Focaccia Genovese:
Note: Zia Marghe didn't measure anything except the flour, so the ratio of water and oil might need some tweaking. Preheat oven to 250°C (450-500°F). Mix 1 cup warm water with a package of dry yeast. Stir until dissolved and set aside for about 5-10 minutes.
Add yeast water to 500 grams (about 4.5 cups) flour and stir with a fork. Add about another cup of warm water, 2 Tbsp sugar and 2 Tbsp olive oil and continue to mix with your hands until well combined. Drizzle with some more oil, cover with a clean, damp cloth and let rise for about an hour.
Cover a baking sheet (or two if using a little toaster oven) with oiled parchment paper and dump out the dough on to this surface. Spread the dough out to the edges of the baking sheet pretty thinly using the tips of your fingers (coated in olive oil to avoid sticking). Make sure to leave finger imprints in the dough, that's what makes it have it's final bumpy appearance. Drizzle with more olive oil, don't be shy, this is what makes it authentic- lot's of olive oil. It should pool up in all your little finger holes. Don't worry, it will be absorbed and not greasy. Sprinkle the focaccia evenly and generously with coarse salt. Toss in to hot oven and keep an eye on it. It's ready when the top turns golden, about 20 minutes or less, depending on the oven. Eat while hot.

The Lamb Cake

2008-03-22T15:04:00.016-05:00

I inherited the traditional ( and once terrible) task of making the Lamb Cake each Easter. The antique cast iron mold of a cute little lamb, and memories from my childhood of the thrilling cake seduced me into thinking I should have the Lamb Cake mold. As I remember the story, it belonged to Florence Herff (who my mother says was a lot like me.) She was my great grandmother who I never met. She raised my mother and so the mold came down the family tree. Now I'm not sure Florence ever actually make the cake, because Anna, the housekeeper/nanny who lived with the family for three generations was always there. When I was a child it was Anna who made the cake, easy as pie. I cannot remember an Easter without the lamb. Anna passed away 35 years ago so I inherited the mold, but not the recipe.

I imagined my children having fond memories of Easter Sunday when I would bring the dusty mold off the shelf and perform the magic I once saw. But in reality, I would start the experiment only hours before having to present the cake to my big family of five brothers whom also could not imagine an Easter without the lamb. Always optimistic, picturing the perfect presentation, I would start looking through cookbooks to find the perfect recipe. For many, many years the cute little cake would turn into a monster nightmare of frustration and tears. The lamb would become a Frankenstein sort of creature with toothpicks and excessive amounts of icing gluing together his head, ears, nose. One year he had to go to the party laying down, like the slaughtered lamb. I had many a humiliating Easter and grew to dread the hateful little lamb. My children had uneasy feelings about Easter as a holiday that involved lots of hair pulling and cussing.

But no more! After close to 30 years of experiments, I have learned the secrets of how to make the Lamb Cake and I am sharing every detail with you so maybe you too will dare to create a cake that delights little children and grandparents alike.

How to Make a Lamb Cake

Dust off the cast iron mold. Ours is in 2 pieces that fit together with the nose side down.
Use spray oil with flour in it if available. Get the oil in all the nooks and crannies.

Preheat oven to 375

Have all ingredients room temperature
Sift before measuring 2 cups cake flour,
resift with:
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
In another bowl cream until fluffy:
1 cup sugar and 1/3 to 1/2 cup butter
combine: 3/4 cup milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla

Add the sifted ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 parts, alternating with thirds of the liquid combination. Stir the batter until smooth after each addition. Whip until stiff but not dry
2 large egg whites. Fold them lightly into the batter.

Now, put the mold NOSE side down on a cookie sheet and fill with batter. Next is the secret to an upright lamb with ears... carefully add bamboo skewers into the nose, across the head to the ears and one for the entire length of the body. Much like the Statue of Liberty, the lamb needs a structure to be sure it will stand true and tall.

Next, close the other half over the mold and place in the oven for 50 minutes. Our mold has no vents or way to test for doneness, so you just have to know 50 minutes is right. Trust me on this. Don't open the mold!

When done, let it sit IN THE MOLD, nose side down for 15 minutes.

Then you may lift the back off and see how you did.
Let the lamb rest for another 15-30 minutes to cool and set.
When cool, carefully loosen the edges with a knife, especially around the ears. Then flip it onto a platter. Before icing the cake I recommend freezing it for a short time to give it more strength.

Icing
I make lots just in case I need to glue a head or ear back on...

Sift 4 cups confectioners sugar
beat until soft:
6 Tablespoons butter
Add sugar gradually
Add 4 teaspoons vanilla or coffee or orange, etc
Blend until creamy (add a little cream to make it creamy)

Let icing sit over hot water for 10 to 15 minutes.

Let Lamby out of the freezer and stand him up. Slather thickly with icing to make him look fat and cute. While icing is still wet, pat shredded coconut all over him. Add raisins for eyes and nose and tie a pretty bow around his neck.

Decorate the platter and take a picture of the little guy!

American Food Part 1 continued: Bread Pudding

2008-03-09T15:47:00.005-05:00

Posting about Helen's gumbo got me thinking about another one of her specialties...bread pudding. Now I'm sure bread pudding-type dishes can be found all over the world. It's just about the simplest baked dessert I can think of, and is made from humble, common ingredients...bread, milk, eggs, sugar. Grandma Helen claims that stale french bread from New Orleans is the key to this recipe's success, but I believe that any light, airy baguette-type bread will do just fine. You can omit the raisins if you're not a fan, but the sauce is, in my mind, essential.

Helen's Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

1 large loaf french bread (1.5 medium): a few days old and stale (or you can cheat and put it in a 200 degree oven for a while to dry it out)
1 quart milk
1 cup raisins
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Tear the bread into pieces a little larger than bite-sized. Place in a medium bowl and add milk and soak/stir until soggy. In a separate bowl mix together eggs, sugar and vanilla and then add to bread and milk mixture once it gets soggy. Add raisins. Pour into a pyrex or ceramic casserole dish and place that in another pan filled with about 1/4 inch of water. Bake until bubbling and beginning to brown on top (not sure how long this should take...10 mins?...will report back).

Meanwhile, make sauce in a double boiler or metal bowl suspended over a pot of boiling water. Melt 1 stick of butter and then whisk in 1 cup of powdered sugar. Beat one egg yolk in a small bowl and add a few spoons full of butter/sugar mixture to egg, then add to the rest of the butter/sugar in double boiler and mix until there are no lumps. Remove from heat, let cool and then add 1/4 cup of whiskey (I think Helen uses Bourbon).

Pour sauce over cooked pudding (you may not want to use all of it-to taste) and then return to oven and broil for a minute or two. Serve warm (or eat cold for breakfast straight out of the dish).

American Food Part 1: Seafood Gumbo

2008-03-09T14:54:00.004-05:00

The more time I put into thinking about it, the more confused I've become about what truly is American food. It definitely gets complicated by the fact that we're predominately a country of immigrants, and most every food item I can think of is really "fusion" cuisine. What do Americans eat everyday? Well, the answer must be 'a whole lotta different stuff.' This country is so big, so diverse, it's impossible to generalize except to say that we eat a lot! Unfortunately, American food seems to most often conjure up the old cliches...hamburgers, hotdogs, apple pie. These things certainly have their place and their fans, but it's definitely not what I eat everyday! To me, the closest answers I can come up with to what is truly American food are regional specialty foods; creations that resulted who-knows-when from creative combinations of foods from the old country with new ingredients fresh from American soil. Since I've had little time and little need to cook lately (everyone else seems to be cooking and inviting me over these days), I'll post about some different examples over the next several weeks.

Example #1 is my Grandma Helen's Seafood Gumbo. Helen grew up in New Orleans and is a wonderful cook when it comes to local specialties. Gumbo, in my mind, is a pretty great example of an American food--a fusion of old and new world and utterly unique. Read all about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumbo. I've never made Helen's gumbo, but have eaten it several times and plan to try my hand at it as soon as opportunity arises. A few ingredients my be hard or even impossible to get in Italy (okra and file powder, for example). You might just have to come visit to give it a try!

Seafood File Gumbo

Combine and set aside this seasoning mix:
1.5 teaspoons ground cayenne
1.5 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon salt
.5 teaspoons of following:
white pepper, black pepper, dried thyme leaves, oregano leaves
2 bay leaves, crumbled

5.5-6 cups fish stock
3/4 cup canola/vege. oil)
2 cups chopped onion
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups chopped bell peppers
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 lb. sliced okra
1 tablespoon Tabasco or other Louisiana hot pepper sauce
1 1/4 tomato sauce (unseasoned)
3 tablespoons gumbo file http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil%C3%A9_powder
Assorted seafood: whole crabs (break claws at joint, and crack cleaned bodies down middle), shelled shrimp, oysters, firm white fish, etc. (she doesn't specify how much--a few lbs. total?)
1 lb. Kielbasa sausage or chicken (optional, though important for flavor to some)

In heavy stockpot heat oil over med. heat until smoking point. Add onion, celery and bell peppers and stir. Turn heat to high and stir in file powder, tabasco, garlic and seasoning mix. Cook for 6 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and stir in tomato sauce-cook 5 minutes stirring constantly and scraping bottom of the pan as the file thickens. Add the stock and bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium. Add okra, sausage or chicken, and crabs and cook until okra is done. Turn off and let sit if you have the time and then rewarm close to the time you want to serve (flavor improves with sitting). Add fish, shrimp, and oysters to re-warmed soup over medium/high heat about 5 minutes before serving.

Serve over rice. Mmmmmm.

All-American in Italy

2008-03-06T09:47:00.012-06:00

Friends, Family, Fellow bloggers: I have a small request.
I want american food. I want your most american, down-home, back-country or inner-city, passed-down, real recipes. I have been colonizing Italy, one meal at a time, and I'm running out of ideas.
I'm ready to show Italy that we might have something more than McDonald's to offer the world's kitchen.
Give me all you got.

Matching flavors

2008-02-29T04:32:00.012-06:00

I've been looking for a dictionary of flavors. I'm sure something like this exists, I'm just not sure where. Lately, I don't follow recipes at all, I just scan my cookbooks for new ingredient combinations and apply them to whatever I feel like making. For instance, I wanted to make up a new salmon dish the other night. I knew that fennel and orange went well together from a salad I make, and they are both at their peak season here right now. Red onion fits well with salmon and could balance out the sweetness of the other two flavors. Violà, my new favorite salmon recipe. It's so delicious I'm sure someone has thought of this before me. I love putting the pieces together like a puzzle. There are so many combinations out there, waiting to be discovered, transformed, adapted....

Orange marinated salmon over grilled fennel

Ingredients:
Salmon fillet (the thicker the better)
Fresh Fennel (the herb)
A handful of capers
Red Onion, thinly sliced in rings
White Wine
Olive Oil
Oranges (I used delicious red oranges from Sicily)
Lemon
Fennel bulbs (1 per person)

Prep:
Lay the salmon out flat in a large tupperware and marinade with the juice from one orange, one lemon, a cup of white wine, olive oil, onion, capers, salt and pepper, and some sprigs of fresh fennel (not chopped). Cover and refrigerate for 30 min to an hour, or less if you're pressed for time. In the meantime, wash fennel bulbs and remove outermost, toughest layer. Cut them in to quarters vertically, brush with oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Toss these babies on the grill and cook until soft when poked with fork (I used a grill pan, but if you don't have one you could just brown them in a regular pan).
Next, prepare the fish. I like to sear it in a large, non stick skillet, but if you have an actual grill fired up, that would be a delicious alternative. To sear it, really heat up your biggest pan over a medium-high flame with no oil. Pick up the salmon fillet, shaking off the marinate, and toss it (pink side down) in the hot pan. Let it sear and brown for a few minutes (check the color so it doesn't burn), then pour in the marinade and cover pan. After another minute or so flip the fish, add more wine if it's getting dry, and cover again. Cook until the fish is done, but not over-done, it should be pink and moist inside still. Serve over the grilled fennel bulbs and garnish with a slice of orange.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2008-02-22T04:03:00.012-06:00

Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies.
If they claim otherwise they're either lying or peculiar. I have probably made hundreds of batches in my lifetime, spilling pounds of flour in the process, and devouring mounds of dough. There is nothing that brings out the inner child like witnessing the mysterious alchemy of the oven as greasy dough balls grow and puff in to soft, moist, gooey cookies.
Chocolate chip cookies, like so many kitchen miracles, were discovered by accident. Ruth Wakefield, proprietor of the Toll House Inn, ran out of baker's chocolate one day while making cookies in the early 1930s. She improvised by chopping up a Nestlè semisweet chocolate bar, expecting it to melt completely and incorporate with the dough, but instead it only softened, and those gooey little chocolate pockets remained intact. The chocolate chip cookie was born, and was an instant success. When Nestlè saw it's sales of semisweet chocolate jumped as the recipe spread, they struck a deal with Ruth Wakefield: a lifetime supply of Nestlè chocolate in exchange for the rights to print her recipe on their packaging. In 1939, "Nestlé Toll House Real Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels" were born, and the rest is history.
In my ever-growing cravings for truly American treats, I have used my Italian kitchen to import all sorts of traditional foods from apple pie to oatmeal, popcorn to pancakes, brownies to barbecue sauce. I have no idea why it never occurred to me to make chocolate chip cookies. It's as if they were too American, too home-like, too genuine to take out of their natural habitat. I didn't even miss them, it's as if they never existed. Yesterday, however, I stumbled upon the history of chocolate chip cookies on the internet and was overcome with an undeniable urge to make them, not just to eat them, but to actually bake them. I wanted the sticky fingers and the flour-dusted counter top, the aroma of the oven, and obviously the sweet, hot reward.
I went to the grocery store and was foolishly surprised not to find chocolate chips. I bought a dark chocolate bar, and made them the Ruth Wakefield way, trying to picture the kitchen of the Toll House Inn in the 1930s, and thanking the lord for the necessity that mothered this exquisite invention.

Original Toll House Inn Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 lg eggs
1 3/4 - 2 cups chocolate chips (semi sweet)
1 cup nuts (optional)

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.
1. COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts.
5. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
6. BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

Homecomings and Goings

2008-02-04T09:31:00.001-06:00

Going home is such a funny thing for any grown child- it grows stranger and more surreal with each visit. Living in a foreign country, these homecomings become even more peculiar. Upon each return, new vocabulary words are tossed around to describe trends of which I’m ignorant, a years worth of movies I’ve missed are discussed with faded enthusiasm, ideas have changed, people and pets have died, been born, and gotten married or divorced.

This year, bamboo was suddenly a fabric, Modest Mouse played on the radio, 11 year olds wore Uggs over Skinny-Jeans, global warming became dinner conversation, several new engagements and divorces were announced, and the iPhone became just another household object.

Fortunately, however, some things never really change. One of these things is my mother’s kitchen: always crowded, lively, warm and full of healthy smells. I love to cook in that kitchen. It’s the center of the house, and an adventure in itself. You never know when platters will come careening off their precarious position atop the refrigerator, if you’ll ever find that knife you’re sure existed yesterday, or what surprises you’ll find in the back of the cupboard. It’s a space without time. Sure, she can buy new plates or reorganize the pot lids, but the spirit of that kitchen remains the same: spontaneous and creative. It’s the perfect kitchen for experimenting: if necessity is the mother of invention, then abundance must be the rogue father- and they mingle peacefully in this timeless room. My cousin Shelly, who grew up to be a chef in 5-star restaurants, remembers her first culinary adventures in my mother’s kitchen: a recipe that called for cacao, white sugar and enriched cake flour would be nearly unrecognizable when replaced with carob, molasses and spelt.

While it’s not as extreme in its substitutions as it once was, this kitchen has retained her cozy vagabond soul. She has been the backdrop for my childhood cooking shows and the host to hundreds of dinner parties with countless combinations of guests- some who came to stay and others destined to leave us. She has seen garden grubs explode in a wok, and witnessed my transformation after my first adventure in Italy, as I rolled gnocchi with my future husband. Through all the years and thousands of meals, she has always opened her crumb-covered arms, and welcomed us home.

It’s comforting to know, in a world transforming too quickly to absorb, where my native land feels more alien with each passing day, that there exists this cozy, bustling refuge brimming with the aroma of memory, evolving yet never really changing.

minestrone alla genovese

2008-01-28T03:16:00.001-06:00

Here is the recipe of this famous soup from Genoa.....no pictures, sorry, maybe in the future...
annalisa

Ingredients:

1 onion
100 gr. Beans (the kind is Borlotti)
150 gr. String Beans
3 potatoes
2 eggplants
200 gr. Zucchini
300 gr. Cabbages
200 gr. Season vegetables (like Swiss chard)
25 gr. Dried mushrooms
2 spoons of extra virgin olive oil
200 gr. Pasta (the little one that in Italy is called BRICCHETTI)
50 gr. PESTO (see the former recipe)
salt

Preparation:

Clean all vegetables and put on the stove a pot with salted water. When it boils put in the pot all the vegetables that you have previously cut into little pieces.
Let the dried mushrooms soak then twist them and put them into the soup.
Cook with at a low fire for an hour or so. Add the pasta and let it cook. Take the pot off the stove and add the pesto (that you have previously watered). Stir and serve with parmesan cheese. (If you don’t like the vegetables in pieces, before adding the pasta, you can use the mix blender to smooth the soup).
Good luck!!!

Roasted Veggie Enchiladas

2008-01-19T14:13:00.001-06:00

Ciel and I made these for a dinner party while I was home. It was a big project, but really fun, and very rewarding. We got the recipe from a great cookbook that Ciel's mom gave to my mom: Everyday Greens: Home Cooking from Greens, the Celebrated Vegetarian Restaurant. They turned out delicious, and even my grandparents said they didn't know vegetarian food could be so tasty!
Left: Enchilada assemblage.

Ingredients:

1 large onion
2 large red peppers, diced, about 2 cups
1/2 lb white mushrooms, quartered, about 2 cups
1 medium zucchini diced, about 1.5 cups
1/2 small butternut squash, cut in to small cubes, about 2 cups
olive or veggie oil
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 Tbsp whole cumin seeds, toasted then crushed into a powder
Salt
1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1/4 lb. smoked cheese, grated, about 1 cup
1/4 lb. dry jack cheese, grated, about 1 1/4 cup
Vegetable oil for frying
1 dozen corn tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can mole sauce
chipotle peppers, canned in abodo sauce

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Toss the veggies in large bowl with the oil, garlic, cumin and 1/2 tsp salt. Spread the veggies on two baking sheets and roast for 15 minutes, turn, and roast until tender, about another 10 minutes. Return veggies to bowl, and season with a very finely chopped chipotle pepper and some of it's tomato sauce. Adjust according to spiciness desire. You may also sautèe some poplanos and add them to the mix, it gives great flavor. Add the rest of the herbs and salt and pepper to taste.
Reduce oven temp to 375°F
Combine cheeses, reserve 1/2 cup for garnish.
Pour about 1/4 inch oil in to skillet and heat until just below smoking point. Using tongs, dip a tortilla in the oil for just a couple seconds. Place on a paper towl to drain oil. Repeat with rest of tortillas.
Mix together your enchilada and mole sauce, or make your own. Pour 3 cups on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Place some veggies in the center of each tortilla and sprinkle with cheese. Roll 'em up tightly, making sure the filling extends to both ends, and lay in the dish- seam side down. When they're all rolled, ladle enough sauce over them to cover completely.
Cover with foil and bake until they're bubbling, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with the reserved cheese and serve.

*NOTE: You can roast the veggies, make the filling and grate the cheese in advance. Assemble enchilada rolls and place in pan about 2 hours before serving, but wait to pour the sauce over them until right before they go in the oven.

Spicy Winter Stew

2008-01-16T12:27:00.001-06:00

Confidence is not always my strong suit, but when it comes to cooking I consider myself (relatively) fearless. Roast a chicken? No problem. Dinner for 20? Can do. As long as I have a recipe to generally keep myself on track, I'm ready to tackle most anything in the kitchen. Lately, however, I have realized that I generally stick to my comfort zone when it comes to flavors--Italian or Mexican spices, usually. Several attempts at Asian-style dishes have flopped, not to mention a couple of nose-drippingly hot but otherwise flavorless curries. Not to be deterred, I've decided 2008 will be a year to branch out in the kitchen, a chance to explore beyond the basil and garlic. The recipe that follows, a Moroccan-inspired vegetable stew, is, I think, a great way to kick it off.
This recipe was written as a slow-cooker meal, but I made it on the stove top with good results. I'll include instructions for both below. I served it with brown rice with lemon juice, lemon zest, chopped toasted almonds and parsley.
Also, though it's a great vegetarian dish, meat-o-philes might want to explore adding lamb or serving it on the side. I also think it would be a good side for some kind of simply prepared firm, white fish. If you like thinks really spicy, try adding a tiny bit more of the dried spices than the recipe calls for.

Spicetastic Moroccan Stew
(inspired by Susan Sugarman), serves 6

2 tbs. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 cups veg. or chicken broth
2.5 cups cauliflower florets (about 1/2 large head)
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch rounds
2 cups cubed winter squash (kabocha or butternut are great, acorn would be ok too)
1/2 cup diced onion
1 14.5 oz can diced or stewed tomatoes (I used a bigger can with fine results)
1 can garbanzos, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup dried currants or raisins

Slow-Cooker Prep:
Heat olive oil in a frying pan over med/low heat. Add garlic and spices and cook, stirring, until fragrant (1-2 minutes only, don't burn). Scrape into a slow cooker, add all other ingredients and cook on high until vegetables are tender, 8 to 9 hours.
Stove-top Prep:
Like all soupy things, I think this dish tastes best if given time for the flavors to meld. Make it in the morning or early afternoon if you're going to serve it for dinner.
Get out your heaviest soup pot (I used by cast iron dutch oven)--the whole dish will be cooked in this one pot. Cook garlic and spices as above, then add onion and cook a few minutes more. Add all the rest of the ingredients and simmer, covered over lowish heat for about an hour. Turn off the heat and let it sit until about an hour before you want to serve it, then fire up the heat again (low). Taste, and serve!

A Squash Story

2008-01-14T22:43:00.000-06:00

This winter I discovered squash. If you are familiar with my culinary methods at all, you know that when I say "discovered" I mean "became obsessively infatuated with..." I've made squash and pumpkin soups, pies, dips, spreads and purèes. I've baked, broiled, boiled, roasted, sautèed, browned, creamed and steamed it. In short, it was a delicious winter romance, and to think, it all started with a giant zucca from Genoa.
There is not a wide array of squash in Italy, my supermarket has only one drab variety of zucca. Vegetable vendors sell the zucca mantovana, which is sweeter and much more flavorful than the generic version, and every so often I run across a butternut squash as well. So, not surprisingly, I haven't been enthusiastic about exploring squash recipes since I've been over here. One time, however, I was at the fabulous Mercato Orientale in Genoa, and ran across the biggest, most beautiful zucca mantovana I'd ever seen. I had never cooked much with squash before, but it's bulbous belly and gleaming green skin charmed me. I immediately bought it, without considering the fact I was on foot, and about 3 miles from home. The thing weighed 20 lbs and was 3 times the size of my head. Between the monster squash and my various other provisions, I could barely hobble out of the market to hail a cab.
When I finally did get it home, I had no idea what to do with the monstrosity. It monopolized my fridge for about a week, looking less like a friendly squash and more like a menacing, overweight goblin. I was no less intimidated when I lugged it on the the counter- it completely dwarfed my cutting board, and made my largest, sharpest cleaver look like a butter knife. Several hours later, I had succeeded in carving the goblin, and was ready to embark on my winter-long affair.
The first thing I made was Nisa's fabulous Roasted Butternut-Pear Soup. Then I roasted the seeds, several ways. Then I made soup again, with variations. Then I made pumpkin pie. Then I experimented with risottos, which ended up being the most delicious variation. The list goes on, and so does the romance.

Delicious Roasted Butternut Risotto:

Ingredients:
Arborio or other risotto rice (about 1/3 or 1/2 cup per person)
1 butternut squash
1-2 yellow or white onions
2 cloves or more garlic
1 Tbsp finely diced, fresh rosemary
1/2 cup white wine
broth or bouillon
Parmesan cheese

Peel, de-seed and cut the butternut in to 1 inch cubes. Toss in a roasting pan with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast it in the oven at 375° for 20-30 minutes or until it is soft when poked with fork, and starts to turn a darker golden. Remove and set aside to cool. When it's cooled off a bit, throw it in a food processor and whip it up.
While the squash is roasting, start your risotto: Bring broth to a simmer and keep at a bare simmer, covered. Process the onions, garlic and the finely diced rosemary using an immersion blender or food processor until they turn to finely diced mush. Toss the mix in your favorite risotto pan* with some olive oil and a slab of butter. Sautèe for about 5 minutes.
Add your rice (about 1/3 to 1/2 c. per person), and toast it for a minute, stirring to make sure it doesn't stick. Add the wine and let it sizzle and pop for a minute.
Stir in 1/2 cup simmering broth and cook at a strong simmer, stirring frequently, until broth is absorbed. Continue simmering and adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be mostly absorbed before adding the next.
After about 8 minutes, add the squash-mush. You don't want to add too much (it's not soup) just use your judgement. You want it to be flavorful and a rich, pretty color, but not to overwhelm the rice. Continue adding broth until rice is creamy-looking but still al dente, about 18 minutes total, depending on the rice (check out the instructions on the box). When the rice is done, add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a chunk of butter. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir, then cover the pot and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy thoroughly.

*a good risotto pan should be wider than it is tall, with a thick base. Non-stick is ideal, but whatever you have will work.

Coming soon... A post!

2008-01-08T08:20:00.000-06:00

Hi folks. I have not abandoned the blog. I have been travelling the globe, absorbing all sorts of inspiration to chew on. I am back at home and work after a fabulous trip to the states which warmed my heart and filled my belly. Thank you all for the great memories. I am definitey going to post those roasted veggie enchiladas from the dinner party at my folks' house, as well as a to-DIE-for butternut squash risotto I created upon my return to Italy... So stay tuned!
Love,
Laurel

Jalapeño-Cheese Cornbread Muffins

2007-12-11T19:21:00.001-06:00

I made these for my Thanksgiving party this year. After 3 test batches of dry, brick-like cornbread, I got the proportions right! They are extra delicious right out of the oven!

Ingredients (for 12 muffins):

1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c. buttermilk*
2 large eggs
6-8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
1 c. grated cheese
1 handful chopped jalapeños (depending how hot you want your muffins)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 12 regular muffin cups. Stir together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk and egg in another medium bowl; whisk in melted butter, then add grated cheese and jalapeños. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients; stir just until incorporated (do not overmix). Pour batter in muffin cups. Bake muffins until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Yum!

*I couldn't find buttermilk so I used this substitute, which worked great: Add one Tbsp of lemon juice to a cup of regular milk and set aside for 5 minutes.

Emilio's "Check my roast out"

2007-12-01T14:45:00.000-06:00

What's up my dearest America? Here's my little contribution to your already rich variety of food and recipes!
I'd like to thank Laurel for taking the photo, where you can see me (looking almost bald, which I'm not) slicing the roast. The white glove is not for hygienic purposes but because I just cut a finger for the 12th time this month! So please remember never to smoke, drink, talk or do anything else when thinly slicing the amazing result of this recipe! I called it "check my roast out" because I loooove Hip Hop a lot lately! Enjoy and remember that I miss you all!

Ingredients (for 5-6 people):

3.5 oz. of sundried tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
2 shallots
about 1 1/2 lb veal rump (you can also use pork loin)
2 Tbsp Lard
2/3 c. Port
1 c. beef broth
1 1/4 c. cream
1 tsp lemon juice
a small bunch of chives

Preheat oven and roasting pan to 175°F. Pat dry the sun dried tomatoes and cut them in to thin strips. Peel and finely mince the garlic and shallots. Salt and pepper the meat . In a large, non-stick pan, heat the lard until boiling. Brown the meat on all sides in the lard over high heat for about 8-10 minutes. Remove meat (do not discard juices) and place in preheated roast pan in oven. Cook at 175° for about 2 1/2 hours. In the cooking juices left in the non-stick pan, sautee the sundried tomatoes, shallots and garlic. Deglaze with the port and reduce it by one half. Add the beef broth and reduce some more. Add the cream and cook until you have a well mixed, creamy sauce. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice. Set aside. Immediately before serving, bring sauce to a boil and season with chopped chives. Cut the meat in thin slices and cover with the sauce.

Excellent Apple Crisp

2007-11-28T18:23:00.001-06:00

This was another one of my many lovingly prepared Thanksgiving dishes. After all my apple-pie adventures, I was ready for a quick apple dessert that required no pie crust, especially since I was preparing a huge meal and 2 pumpkin pies at the same time. I came up with this apple crisp which is so delicious, and so easy, I might never make an apple pie again!
Serve warm with freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt
about 7 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 Tbsp lemon juice
-topping-
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Add apples and toss to coat. Squeeze in lemon, mix well. Transfer apple mixture to prepared dish and pop in the oven for about 15 min.
In the meantime, combine flour, cinnamon, 1 cup sugar and butter in medium bowl. Using pastry blender or fingertips, blend ingredients until coarse meal forms (you can also pulse it all together in a food processor). Take apples out of the oven, sprinkle them with the flour mixture and put back in oven.
Bake crisp until topping is golden brown, about 25 min. Cool for 10 minutes before eating.

Lamar's Pecan Dressing

2007-11-26T09:47:00.000-06:00

This is another famous Lamar recipe. Thanksgiving and Christmas just wouldn't be holidays without his perfect pecan dressing. Here is the recipe he sent me:

Ingredients for large group (adjust portions of ingredients to taste)
• Large pan, lasagna style or larger
• Cookie sheet or shallow pan
• Large mixing bowl (large salad size)
• Herb Seasoned Stuffing Mix, 2-3 pounds (Pepperidge Farm is Best, but this can be made from scratch by using a combination of crumbled dried white and dark breads, adding small amounts dried thyme and rosemary)
• Pecans, halves are best, 1-2 pounds
• Chicken stock, 2-3 quarts (Poultry drippings are good, but you usually don’t have these available ahead of time, and you have more control of the concentration of the broth with chicken stock, which is important) Low salt versions are good because of concentration. Note from Laurel: I used vegetable stock and it worked just fine.
• Butter, 2 pounds (or more) (Low salt versions are best)
• Large onions, 2-3
• Celery head (3-4 stalks)
• Salt

1. Chicken stock (unless already concentrated) needs to be reduced to 40-50% of original volume. Start early.
(Drink a glass, or two of appropriate wine)
2. Lightly salt and lightly roast pecans on low heat (250) for about 20-30 minutes. (This is important to prevent soggy pecans. Don’t let them burn.
3. Chop onion and cook in butter until they start to become clear. Remove from heat.
4. Chop celery, but not too small… bite sized.
5. Add breading, pecans and celery in large bowl, and thoroughly mix.
6. Slowly add stock, mixing while you pour. Breading should be wet, but not soggy.
7. Add butter and onion combination, mixing thoroughly
8. Add and mix in additional melted butter as appropriate. Breading should not get soggy, able to separate with a fork.
9. Pour mixture into baking pan. Arrange evenly in pan but do not pack down. (Try to make sure that most pecans and celery are below the surface)
10. Bake for an hour or so at 375 while drinking an appropriate glass or two of wine.

Turkey Day

2007-11-25T14:56:00.000-06:00

A photo essay on Thansgiving at the Mason House, 2007 (Conclusion to follow when my computer isn't acting up..):

The bird.

The tools. Art by Mark.

The burning of the Moonshine Valley Ranch Cherrywood, pre-smoker.

The masterpiece(s).

Front Door. Decor by Nisa.

Entry Door. Decor by Nisa.

Dining Table. Cloth by Emilio, decor by Nisa, gourds by God.

Full Table.

Lamar and Dolmas.

Table #2.

Veggies.

Dressing, by Lamar.

Pumpkin pie, by Jill.

Pumkin ice cream with salted pumpkin brittle swirl, by Tonio.

Sweet Potato Pie with Marshmellow Meringue, by Jill and Swirled Halvah.

What a spread!

2007-11-25T07:02:00.001-06:00

Well, our first Italian Thanksgiving party was a huge success! It looked like a real Thanksgiving (except for the name tags I added to the food for the sake of the Italians). Anyway, it was a blast, hugely tiring, but a lot of fun. It was dinner for 18, but we cooked for 40, I'm not joking. My two American partners-in-crime are both fabulous cooks and enthusiastic party-girls. It was definitely a group effort that never could have been pulled off alone. Recipes are on the way!

the girls

the turkey (before)

...and after

the pie

the leftovers

Pumpkin Marscarpone Pie

2007-11-21T18:25:00.000-06:00

The crust is the Apple Pie crust previously posted on the blog.

The Filling

1 cup canned pure pumpkin

1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 8-ounce container mascarpone cheese

Using an electric mixer, beat the pumpkin and sugar in large bowl until its well blended. Add the eggs and next 7 ingredients and beat until blended. Add the mascarpone cheese and beat just until mixture is smooth. Transfer the filling to the prepared crust.

Bake the pie at 350 until custard is set, about 45-60 minutes.

After its finished, transfer the pie to a rack to cool.

*Made By SARAHFINA!

Peach Daiquiri

2007-11-21T15:49:00.000-06:00

This is a delightful treat to enjoy while doing some Thanksgiving preparation cooking. It definitely makes the chopping and peeling much more enjoyable.

Ingredients:

Rum

Canned Peaches ( fresh is better, but canned will do the trick)

Peach Nectar

Ice

Peachcello

Lime

Blend all ingredients in the blender until desired texture, sweetness and stoutness. Top with a squeeze of lime for a lovely garnish.

Sugar & Spice & All Things Nice!

2007-11-13T09:53:00.000-06:00

I just browsed through the dessert category and realized that everything revolves around chocolate. While many believe that the world revolves around chocolate, I am one of those anomalies who has yet to fall under the chocolate spell. So, here's a non-chocolate dessert that is really yummy and very Fall appropriate. (I'll make some for Thanksgiving.)

Spice Cookies

1.5 cups softened butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
0.5 cups molasses
4 cups flour
4 t baking soda
2 t cinnamon
1 t ginger
1 t cloves
1 t salt

Cream butter and sugar; add eggs one at a time; then add molasses.

Combine dry ingredients; then add to wet.

Mix and chill for 4 hours (less time is OK).

Shape into 1/2 " balls; roll in sugar.

Bake @ 375º for 7 minutes.

Pumpkin Dip (this makes a ton of dip)

1 8-oz package softened cream cheese
1 18-oz can of pumpkin pie filling
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger

Mix in food processor. Chill and serve with cookies.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURELINA!!!

2007-11-13T09:14:00.000-06:00

Thank you for all you are, thank you for choosing me like you'd choose a good ingredient for your recipees!!!!! (I just find it difficult to be serious sometimes, but I do ADORE you!)

E

Garlic Roasted Pecans

2007-11-12T15:38:00.002-06:00

As long as I can remember, Lamar Sawyer (long-time partner-in-crime and friend of my parents) has contributed 3 fundamental dishes to both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners: Garlic Roasted Pecans, Pecan Dressing, and Caesar Salad. These recipes have become so characteristic of his persona, and so integral to our celebration of the holidays, that the festivities just wouldn't be the same without them, or without him for that matter!
This year, he has passed on his famous recipes to the younger generation of festivity-frequenters. I made his famous Garlic Pecans this weekend and they were absolutely delicious, a big hit with the Italians. Maybe it was my imagination, but delectable as they were, it seemed like something was missing. I couldn't help but recall Lamar's ominous words when he sent me the recipe: "I did leave out enough of the details so that the success will be dependent upon the cook’s skills. People always said there was Lamar spit included, but I’m not talking."

Lamar and Chanda’s Garlic Pecans
Ingredients:
• Shallow oven pans or cookie sheets
• Cast iron skillet
• Shelled medium pecan halves, one pound
• Tabasco sauce
• Garlic head
• Butter, 1 stick
• Salt (fine ground)

1. Peel garlic (10-12 cloves), slice thinly alternating between long dimension and short dimension successive cloves.
2. Melt 3 tablespoon of butter in skillet, add garlic to cover bottom
3. Sauté garlic for two minutes, turn off heat.
4. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt over pecans
5. Add 20-25 dashes of Tabasco.
6. Add pecans, mixing thoroughly to coat all pecans with butter, garlic, salt and Tabasco mixture.
7. Pour skillet contents onto cookie sheets, arranging one pecan deep. Keep the pecans away from the edge of the pan to prevent burning from reflected heat.
8. Bake slowly (275-300 degrees) for 25-40 minutes, depending on oven. The key indicator that they are ready is when the garlic starts to turn brown.
9. When the pecans are ready, allow them to cool to be able to touch the pecans without pain.
10. Place the warm pecans in a jar or other airtight container. (They should keep for a year unless opened.)

photo by Emi