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Bourbon Bacon Roast Beef Sliders

What to do with leftover Roast Beef? Peter and I picked up a boneless ribeye roast at Costco last week. My challenge, once that first meal is done, is to find full-flavored ways to use the leftovers. Surfing the net, I stumbled upon a site called Bread Booze Bacon ... and lo and behold, there I found this amazingly delicious sandwich, the Bourbon Bacon Roast Beef Slider. I am not a sandwich lover and never have been but I dreamt about this sandwich last night! Jack Daniel's Candied Bacon, roast beef, and cheddar cheese on a buttered roll - this sandwich is the best I have ever had. Note: Make extra candied bacon because it's hard to resist and you might just find that there's none left and you haven't assembled the sandwiches yet!

Whiskey Candied Bacon
(10 pieces)

10 slices of bacon, left whole or cut in half
½ cup Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cayenne
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1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat with non-stick cooking spray.
3. In a small saucepan, bring ½ cup Jack Daniel's to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Remove from heat and pour into a shallow bowl.
4. On a plate, combine the brown sugar and cayenne.
5. Dip bacon into the Jack Daniel's and then press each side into the brown sugar mixture to coat. (I found it easiest, to spread the sugar mixture out wide on the plate, place a piece of bacon on it and then spoon the sugar on top. When its completely covered, then press down to get the sugar to stick. When you pick it up, some of the sugar will fall off, that's not a problem.)
6. Place bacon on the prepared baking sheet.
7. Bake for 7 minutes, then flip and bake for another 5 minutes. (Note: the sugar will have melted and you'll find the bacon sitting in a pool of melted brown sugar. Be VERY careful taking the sheet pan out of the oven - hot sugar is not only sticky but it burns. The bacon will have a shiny lacquered look.
8. Remove the bacon to a plate coated with non-stick cooking spray to cool completely.
9. Allow the sugar mixture in the sheet pan to cool some but NOT completely because it will become hard, brittle and difficult to remove. Slowly pull the sides of the foil in toward the middle, carefully making a lake of melted sugar, that can they safely be removed to the garbage.

Bourbon Bacon Roast Beef Sliders

Thinly sliced cooked roast beef
Thinly sliced cheddar cheese
Whiskey Candied Bacon
Slider buns, cut in half
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Poppy seeds or dried minced onions
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1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Please the bottom half of each slider roll in a greased casserole dish so the rolls are touching.
3. Place a thick layer of roast beef on the bun-bottoms.
4. Top the beef with a layer of cheddar cheese.
5. Finish layering by topping the cheese with a layer of Candied Bacon slices and adding the bun-tops.
6. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 10 minutes.
7. Remove the foil, brush the slider bun-tops with butter. Then sprinkle with poppy seeds or dried minced onion flakes.
8. Continue baking for another 10 minutes.
9. Remove sliders from the oven and serve warm.

YUM!!

Cherry Jam

Pitted Cherries ©2020 Claudia Ward

 

Cherries have always been just for eating on a summer day, especially at the beach, but things changed when I read a recent blog post from David Lebovitz about Cherry Jam.

 

Simmering Cherries for Cherry Jam ©2020 Claudia Ward

 

Lebovitz has been involved with food his entire life as a cook, a baker, a food blogger and cookbook author. In the beginning, he spent nearly thirteen years at Alice Waters' Chez Panisse in California. He moved to Paris in 2004 and has written nine books, my favorites of which are The Perfect Scoop (all about ice cream, of course), My Paris Kitchen (French cooking with an American perspective), and L'Appart - The Delights and Disasters of Making Paris Home (all about his moving and eventually settling in Paris). Click here if you want to read about all of his books.

 

Cherry Jam ©2020 Claudia Ward

 

Lebovitz noted that the French prefer a runnier jam compared to those made it the U.S., one might even call it a sauce. By any name, it's delicious. On toast  with coffee in the morning or poured over ice cream for dessert ... all good. I even found it to be a great complement to roast chicken as well as pork tenderloin. It's easy to make, versatile, and it doesn't require "canning". You can keep it, refrigerated, for several weeks or months. Try this, I bet you'll like it even if you aren't a cherry fan.

Cherry Jam

(2 ½ cups)

2 pounds (900g) sweet or sour cherries, or a mix

2 1/2 cups (500g) sugar

freshly squeezed juice of one medium lemon, plus additional juice if desired

1-2 drops of almond extract or 1-2 teaspoons of kirsch or another liqueur, such as Cointreau, amaretto, gin, or whiskey

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1. Remove the stems and pit the cherries. Put them in a large non-reactive pot. If using sweet cherries, add 2-3 tablespoons of water to the pot. (Sour cherries will exude enough liquid on their own so no need to add additional water.) Put a small plate or saucer in the freezer.
2. Cover the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the cherries are wilted and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
3. Remove the lid and stir in the sugar and lemon juice. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently until the mixture thickens. It's hard to say how long it will take, but when the mixture resembles the sixth picture in the post, the one in the pot with the bubbles, turn off the heat and test the jam by putting a small spoonful on the frozen dish. Return the dish to the freezer for a few minutes until the jam on it is cool. Run a spoon through it and if the liquid is very thick and leaves a clear patch, as shown in the photo in the post, it's done. If not, return the plate to the freezer and continue to cook the jam, testing it at various intervals, until it's done. (If you want to use a thermometer to check the jam, it should be ready somewhere between 220º and 225ºF, 104º-107ºC.)
4. When ready, turn off the heat and stir in the almond extract or liqueur (or both, if you wish). If desired, you could add an extra squeeze of lemon juice to balance the sweetness. Ladle into clean jars.
5. Storage: This jam will last several weeks in the refrigerator. If you wish to can it, you can find instructions in the headnote before the recipe.

 

 

Consommé Madrilène Encore

Jellied Consommé Madrilène © 2019 Claudia Ward

As the temperature rises, we all migrate toward anything iced or chilled - iced tea, ice cream (of course), chilled vichyssoise, and chilled jellied consommé madrilène. My father loved all of these: iced tea with fresh mint, ice cream - chocolate & vanilla especially, chilled vichyssoise with a sprinkling of chopped fresh chives, and jellied madrilène with a squeeze of lemon juice. I posted the recipe for the jellied madrilène last September but am so excited that it's that time of year again, I'm sharing it here once more. If you're interested in some of the description of the preparation read last year's post. All in all, this recipe is easy to make and sublime to enjoy on these hot summer days. 

Jellied Consommé Madrilène 
(Makes 5 cups)

4 ½ cups canned beef broth
2 ½ cups canned chicken broth
3 pounds tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped scallion
2 carrots, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
½ teaspoon black pepper corns
¼ teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1 pound lean ground beef
4 large egg whites plus shells, crushed
2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
¼ cup Sercial Madeira
Fresh lemon juice to taste
White pepper to taste
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• In a kettle, combine the broths, tomatoes, scallions, carrots, celery, peppercorns, thyme, beef and egg whites & shells.
• Bring to a boil, stirring; then, simmer, UNDISTURBED, for 1 hour.
• Ladle mixture into a sieve lined with triple thickness of rinsed/squeezed cheesecloth set over a bowl and skim fat from surface.
• In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the Madeira. Let soften 5 minutes and stir into hot consommé until dissolved.
• Let consommé cool completely. Stir in lemon juice, white pepper and salt to taste.
• Chill, covered until firm.
• Divide among chilled bowls and serve with a lemon wedge.

Jellied Consommé Madrilène

Jellied Consommé Madrilène © 2019 Claudia Ward

Growing up I recall my father enjoying a chilled bowl of Jellied Consommé Madrilène with a squeeze of lemon on hot summer days. In those days, and in our house, soup came from a can and this one was no exception, although this can was refrigerated before serving up its contents. Back then, I seem to recall the label reading "Cross & Blackwell". 

Recently, I transferred my paper recipe box to Pepperplate, my online recipe box. Amongst the cut out recipes I found one for Jellied Consommé Madrilène from an unidentified source. I learned to love this subtle, tasty soup too and vowed to make it this summer. It's remarkably easy and amazingly interesting in it's subtle flavors wrapped in a delightful jelled broth.

Naturally I had to do a little clarifying (no puns intended) research. Consommé is clarified beef broth, made by simmering a combination of egg whites, even their shells, and beef broth, then removing the impurities by straining. The cloudy particles in the broth attach themselves to the egg whites and rise to the surface where they form a raft along with the beef, vegetables and eggshells, leaving a clear, deep amber fluid below. It's imperative that the assembly start with room temperature ingredients (not heated), and once the broth has boiled, simmer without stirring (so as not to disturb the raft!). When simmering is complete, carefully pass the ingredients through a well-lined sieve. Madrilène is consommé flavored with tomato.

Building the Consommé Raft

The assembly and cooking couldn't be easier. The raft couldn't be much more unsightly. And the clear, deep amber broth couldn't be more sublime. My husband, the sometime skeptic, even said so.

Jellied Consommé Madrilène 
(Makes 5 cups)

4 ½ cups canned beef broth
2 ½ cups canned chicken broth
3 pounds tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 cup chopped scallion
2 carrots, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
½ teaspoon black pepper corns
¼ teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1 pound lean ground beef
4 large egg whites plus shells, crushed
2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
¼ cup Sercial Madeira
Fresh lemon juice to taste
White pepper to taste
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• In a kettle, combine the broths, tomatoes, scallions, carrots, celery, peppercorns, thyme, beef and egg whites & shells.
• Bring to a boil, stirring; then, simmer, UNDISTURBED, for 1 hour.
• Ladle mixture into a sieve lined with triple thickness of rinsed/squeezed cheesecloth set over a bowl and skim fat from surface.
• In a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the Madeira. Let soften 5 minutes and stir into hot consommé until dissolved.
• Let consommé cool completely. Stir in lemon juice, white pepper and salt to taste.
• Chill, covered until firm.
• Divide among chilled bowls and serve with a lemon wedge.

End of Summer Blues

I can't help myself. The produce we get all summer at our local farm-stands is simply irresistible. Strawberries in the Spring, lettuces of all sorts, corn, peaches, and, of course, my beloved tomatoes! I not only love working with these incredible ingredients in the kitchen, but I adore photographing them as well.

Strawberry Gazpacho with Garlic Croutons

This Spring I filled our freezer with Strawberry Ice Cream, Strawberry Sorbet, and Strawberry Frozen Yogurt (my favorite), and scooped them on top of a Strawberry Lime Crostata every chance I had. When I saw a recipe for Strawberry Gazpacho with Garlic Croutons derived from Eleven Madison Park in NYC, I had to try it. It was a delicious, chilled lunch for us on several hot days in July.

And then there was the Pickled Strawberry Jam, that didn't really "set" like a jam should, but it sure was great poured over ice cream!

Corn has been exceptionally sweet this year, and there's rarely been a day when we didn't have it on the cob dripping with butter, but when it wasn't on the cob, it was still on our plate in a Corn Salad, Chipotle Parmesan Sweet Corn (with Lime), or Grilled Corn, Pineapple and Peach Salsa.

What a great segue to Peaches, my favorite fruit of all. I find it nearly impossible when I'm peeling and pitting peaches not to immediately put them in a bowl with a slight dusting of confectioners sugar and a dash of cold milk and enjoy them right then and there.

This year, when they did survive my lust however, they made it into some yummy Peach Ice Cream and an irresistible Peach Galette (or two or three).

An added bonus to making Strawberry or Peach Ice Cream is there is always some leftover puree and an over-the-moon good simple syrup (with a little Cointreau, if you're inclined). They pair to make some very tasty Daiquiris.

Jellied Consomme Madrilene © 2019 Claudia Ward

Over the winter I've been collecting a variety of recipes calling for fresh tomatoes, heirloom or otherwise. Babinski's Farm Stand is my favorite and they have the very best heirloom tomatoes around - and the most photogenic! What graced our table this year? Marinated Heirloom Tomato Soup (a must every year), Tomato and Gruyere Cheese Galette, Jellied Consomme Madrilene, and Tomato Sorbet (simple and satisfying).

Fresh Tomato Sorbet © 2019 Claudia Ward

As the season is rapidly coming to a close, I still haven't had enough and found myself at Babinski's yesterday buying dozens more peaches, corn, and the prettiest heirloom tomatoes.

Anyone have a recipe for any one of these ingredients they want to share. I'd love to expand my portfolio of recipes in Pepperplate!

P.S. If you are interested in any of the recipes I've mentioned in this post that don't have links, mention them in the Comments and I'll make sure to share them here.

 

Anna's Tomato Tart

(This post was originally drafted August 25, 2018. Simply got busy. Tomatoes are still available here but fewer in number.)

It seems all I post about these days is food of some kind, but how can I not when the season is upon us and doesn't last very long.

Tomatoes!! There are farm fresh tomatoes, heirloom and "regular", everywhere and all I want to do is enjoy their incredible flavors. I'm searching for recipes that allow me to freeze some of this goodness so we can enjoy it over the winter, but when I saw this recipe, one to be enjoyed now, I had to make it.

Anna Pump was the founder of an incredible local food store called "Loaves and Fishes". I've shared one or two of the recipes from this store with you already. This one apparently originated with Anna but I found it through Ina (they were friends). Fresh local tomatoes, grated cheeses, minced basil, parsley and garlic, ..... and did I mention Dijon mustard. A friend joined Peter and me for our first taste of the tart at lunch one day recently, and I agree with her comment .... "I get a flavor, followed by another flavor, and then yet again another". Even reheated, a piece for an "on the fly" lunch one day this week, was delicious. Sure beats an American sandwich!

 

 

Green Bean Salad with Horseradish Dressing

It's summer, we all want fresh food, cool recipes, and a limited amount of time in the kitchen.

Loaves and Fishes is a food store in Sagaponack on the East End of Long Island that has been family owned since 1980 and specializes in fine prepared foods for takeaway. Anna Pump opened the store having loved food and its preparation since she was "tall enough to reach the stove and old enough to measure out ingredients for a cake". "I had always loved cooking. It simply was a way of life." Growing up on a 70-acre farm in northern Germany, she learned early the many sources and uses for crops and animals.

In 1985, Pump wrote The Loaves and Fishes Cookbook which I have owned and dog-eared for the better part of three decades. Pump's recipes are, for the most part, straight forward, flavorful, and made with in-season local ingredients. This green bean salad is indicative of how simple, yet original her recipes are. Refreshing complement to a summer barbecue.

Green Bean Salad with Horseradish Dressing
(6 servings)

2 pounds fresh green beans

Dressing
1 cup sour cream
½ cup freshly grated horseradish
¼ cup peeled and minced white onion
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup chopped parsley
================================

• Blanch the green beans until crisp, then shock them under cool water. Allow the beans to cool.
• Mix dressing ingredients together.
• Pour this over the green beans in a salad bowl and serve at room temperature or chilled.

Easy Homemade Peach Ice Cream

Peaches ... are my favorite fruit of all. In July, I shared the easiest and best recipe for strawberry ice cream that I ever made and commented that I was going to adapt the recipe for peaches when they came in to season. Well it's peak peach season on Long Island right now and I did adapt that recipe. I do, ever so humbly, report that it's a great success. Just think, there's no tricky custard to create, there's nothing that can curdle if mistreated, just half and half, sweeteners, and, of course, peaches. Make the plunge. Buy an ice cream maker and make room for it in your freezer. You will never turn back once you've tasted your own homemade ice cream. Remember too that the extra peach purée and the sweet marinating syrup combine to make a killer peach daiquiri later.

Fresh Peach Ice Cream
(5 cups)

8 fresh peaches (30 ounces once peeled and pitted), divided
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
4 tablespoons Cointreau
2 cups half and half
1/2 cup corn syrup
½ teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
=======================================

1. Peel, pit and thinly slice 6 ounces peach flesh, then slice crosswise into very thin pieces. In a mixing bowl, combine the peaches with 1/2 cup sugar and the Cointreau. Let stand in refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
2. Peel, pit, and slice (large slices are fine) the remaining peaches and purée at high speed in a blender until very smooth, about 30 seconds. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of purée and our into clean mixing bowl. (If there is extra purée, it can be used as the base for peach daiquiris, later, along with the reserved peach syrup.)
3. Whisk together the 1 1/2 cups peach purée with half and half, corn syrup, and remaining 3/4 cup sugar until fully combined. Add salt to taste.
4. Chill in the refrigerator or ice bath until the base is very cold, at least 45℉, then churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
5. In the last minute of churning, retrieve the peach mix-ins from the refrigerator, STIR WELL, strain off the syrup and add the marinated peach pieces to the churning base. (Reserve the syrup for those peach daiquiris.)
6. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and chill in freezer for at least 4 hours before serving.

NOTE: The ice cream makers that I've owned have both had a 1 quart capacity (4 cups) and this recipe does make 5 cups. Rather than try to adjust the recipe proportions, I churn the entire batch and just watch it near the end (after 15-20 minutes of churning), turning the machine off before the ice cream overflows. It will begin to seep into the top, but no worries, just don't walk away, it continues to expand its volume and could escape the whole apparatus before you know it.

Easy Strawberry Ice Cream with Recipe

Custard-free, easy strawberry ice cream. Nothing could be simpler or better, and that's what this post is all about. Back in June 2010, I found a recipe for Strawberry Ice Cream that required making an egg custard. As I was a newby to ice cream making at the time, I thought there had to be a custard to be truly good authentic ice cream, and I did thoroughly enjoy eating it. If there are fresh strawberries in it, how could anything be bad?

Fast forward eight years, through many, many ice cream recipes and formulas, and low and behold I came upon Serious Eats on the internet. This is by far the easiest, creamiest and most flavorful ice cream recipe I've found and I've made quarts and quarts of it this strawberry season. There are no challenges here just great rewards.

    Easy Strawberry Ice Cream
(5 cups)

30 ounces (1 quart plus a little extra) fresh strawberries, divided (see note above)
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
4 tablespoons 80-proof liquor such as vodka or, preferably, Cointreau
2 cups half and half
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
Scant drops of lemon juice, if needed
======================================

• Hull and quarter 6 ounces (about 1 cup) strawberries, then slice quarters crosswise into very thin pieces.
• In a mixing bowl, combine strawberries with 1/2 cup sugar and alcohol and let stand in refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
• Hull remaining strawberries and purée at high speed in a blender until very smooth, about 30 seconds.
• Strain through a fine mesh strainer to filter out all seeds and fibers, then measure and reserve 1 1/2 cups purée. Extra purée, if there is any, can be put to another use.
• In a clean mixing bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups strawberry purée with half and half, corn syrup, and remaining 3/4 cup sugar until fully combined.
• Add salt to taste, and, if mixture is too sweet, a few drops of lemon juice.
• Chill in refrigerator or ice bath until base is very cold, at least 45°F, then churn in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
• In the last minute of churning, retrieve strawberry mix-ins from the refrigerator, STIR well, strain off syrup, and add mix-ins to the churn; reserve strawberry syrup for another use (it makes a great daiquiri).
• Transfer ice cream to airtight container and chill in freezer for at least 4 hours before serving.

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See, I tell the truth ... a recent breakfast, Strawberry Lime Crostata with this heavenly strawberry ice cream. 

When peaches come in to season this August, I'm substituting peaches for strawberries in this recipe in the hopes that the results will be as delicious and flavor-packed as these have been.

Frozen Strawberry Yogurt

The end of the local strawberry season is always sad to see come but before it did this year I made a batch of this truly delicious frozen yogurt. This is exceptionally easy to make and the results are packed with the flavor of strawberries and the slight tang of yogurt. Use Greek-style yogurt for the best results, it's richer, thicker, and has less water than regular whole-milk plain yogurt. Don't expect this to thicken and increase in volume in the ice cream maker as ice cream does. Just follow the simple instructions and you will be blown away by your reward and its color!

Where did I find this one? The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. David was trained as a pastry chef in France and Belgium and worked at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, one of the best restaurants in the country, for twelve years. Chez Panisse was founded by Alice Waters and Paul Aratow in 1971 and was the leader in the farm-to-table movement. If you're interested you should follow David's blog, it's always interesting, especially if you're a foodie and maybe even a francophile.

Frozen Strawberry Yogurt
(Makes 1 quart)

1 pound (450 grams) strawberries, rinsed and hulled
2/3 cup (130 grams) sugar
2 teaspoons vodka or kirsch, optional
1 cup (240 grams) Greek-style yogurt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
=======================================

1. Hull and slice the strawberries. Toss them in a bowl with sugar and vodka or kirsch (if using) until the sugar begins to dissolve. Let stand at room temperature for 2 hours, stirring every so often.
2. Transfer the strawberries and their juice to a blender or food processor. Add yogurt (Use Greek-style yogurt for best results. Regular whole-milk plain yogurt can also be used. Greek-style is richer and thicker than whole milk yogurt, and has less water.) Pulse the machine until the mixture is smooth. If you wish, press the mixture through mesh strainer to remove any seeds. Taste, and add lemon juice if desired.
3. Chill for at let 1 hour, or overnight, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Dungeness Crab Cakes

Over the holiday weekend Costco had Dungeness crabs as well as Alaskan King crab legs, two of my favorite things to eat. We usually make a salad or dip from the Dungeness crab, but this time I wanted to try something new. Peter generally doesn't care for crab cakes as all too often they are like "hockey pucks" so I did lots of research and found one recipe that I thought would work. And, it did.  Crab cakes in which the crab is the star.  Sweet crab, crisp crust and tart lemon - simple and divine. A side of Peter's remoulade was perfect.

When making the patties with your hands, the mixture will feel quite loose, not really cake-like. I found making the patties carefully and then chilling them over night, got them to hold together enough to make it to the pan.

There too, treat them gently. Make sure the skillet is hot when you add the patties and turning them using two spatulas is some good advice.

I found this recipe on Food52 and one commenter said that she "ate a few of them just as is, right out of the pan, with a generous squeeze of lemon, and just for fun, stuffed a few more into a good bun along with some curls of red onion, then slathered on my sister's famous tartar sauce." This is all good.

Dungeness Crab Cakes
(Makes 4-5 large crab cakes or 8 small),

 1 pound Dungeness crabmeat (or jumbo lump or blacken blue crabmeat, "preferably from Maryland" wrote the Maryland-native author of the recipe) 
1 large egg
1/4 cup panko or fresh breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons mayonnaise, homemade is best but Hellman's will do in a pinch
1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, more or less to taste
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 pinch of sea salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
Lemon wedges for serving.
=======================================

• Pick through crabmeat and discard any shells, careful not to break up those lovely clumps that you paid so dearly for.
• In a large bowl, beat egg. Fold in mayo, parsley, panko, mustard, Old Bay, and salt.
• GENTLY fold in crab, use your hands, keeping those lumps intact. The mixture will likely be loose, but that’s okay. Shape into patties. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
• Heat butter and oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until the butter stops foaming. Gently add the patties and sauté for about three minutes on each side or until they’re brown. Use two spatulas to flip them. Even if they fall apart, they still taste amazing.
• Serve with a squeeze of lemon.

Rigatoni with Sausage & Fennel

Growing up pasta wasn't part of the family's standard fare despite it being one of the easier things to make. In fact, when I was growing up on Cape Cod, we never heard the word pasta. All we knew was spaghetti which was only a Sunday dinner meal, easily made ahead thus allowing the cook, our mother, "time off" from preparing three course meals.

Sometime in the mid-80s, as upscale gourmet Italian restaurants peppered the Manhattan landscape, I became aware, as we all did, of pasta and the word became prevalent in our vernacular. Celebrity chefs introduced us to all different shapes of pasta, each with its own characteristics and name - the corkscrews of fusilli, the pointed pipes of penne, the tight spirals of rotini, the bow-ties of farfalle, and the large round tubes of rigatoni. And no longer were noodles drowned in tomato sauce, rather they were bathed in light cream sauces and crowned with thin strips of prosciutto, mushrooms, and herbs. Noodles were now gourmet fare and prices reflected their elevation to these new heights.

I will say on the cold winter nights in the Northeast this past winter, pasta was a comforting (and easy) meal. Once again I found a very satisfying and flavorful recipe from Ina Garten in her last cookbook Cooking for Jeffrey. Sweet Italian sausage and fennel flavor a light cream sauce touched by a dollop of tomato paste. I liked this so much I had it for breakfast the morning after our original dinner. It's also a great "pot luck" dish but don't expect any leftovers.

Rigatoni with Sausage & Fennel
(Serves 6) 

3 tablespoons good olive oil
3 cups chopped fennel (1 large bulb)
1 ½ cups chopped yellow onion
1 ¼ pounds sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
½ teaspoon minces garlic (2 cloves)
½ teaspoon whole fennel seeds, crushed with a mortar and pestle (or a hammer in a baggy)
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
⅔ cup half and half
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 pound rigatoni, such as DeCecco
½ cup chopped parsley leaves
1 cup freshly grated Italian Parmesan cheese, divided
=====================================

• Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium heat.
• Add the fennel and onion and sauté for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender.
• Add the sausage and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, crumbling it with a fork until nicely browned.
• Add the garlic, crushed fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute.
• Pour in the wine, bring to a boil, and add the heavy cream, half and half, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
• Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to boil, add 2 tablespoons of salt, and cook rigatoni according to the directions on the package. Drain and add to the sauce, stirring to coat the pasta.
• Cook over low heat for 5 minutes to allow the pasta to absorb the sauce.
• Off the heat, stir in the parsley and ½ cup Parmesan.
• Serve hot in shallow bowls with the remaining ½ cup Parmesan on the side.

Chipotle & Rosemary Roasted Nuts

When we entertain, I don't want my guests to fill up on appetizers before dinner so I'm always looking for unusual "nibbles" that will just start the evening off, leaving room for the dinner to shine. These nuts fill the bill perfectly. They complement a cold drink, don't impair conversation, and have wonderful unusual flavors - the smokey heat of chipotle chili powder, the sweetness of maple syrup and light brown sugar, and the piney aroma of fresh rosemary. When making this recipe, I can't underscore enough the importance of "tossing" the nuts in the pan numerous times after they're removed from the oven and before they're completely cool, They will stick ... to the pan as well as to each other if this is not done. Once cool, there is no problem. Don't worry about cleanup, that sticky stuff is sugar, it melts under hot water. Enjoy!

Chipotle & Rosemary Roasted Nuts
(Serves 8-10)

2 plus tablespoons of vegetable oil, divided
3 cups whole roasted unsalted or lightly cashews (14 ounces)
2 cups whole walnuts halves (7 ounces)
2 cups whole pecan halves (7 ounces)
½ cup whole almonds (3 ounces)
⅓ cup pure maple syrup
¼ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons ground chipotle powder
4 tablespoons minced (with a knife not a blender or food processor) rosemary leaves, divided
=====================================

1. Preheat the oven to 350 ℉.
2. Brush sheet paper generously with vegetable oil.
3. Combine the cashews, walnuts, pecans, almonds, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, the maple syrup, brown sugar, orange juice, and chipotle powder in a large bowl. Mix well to coat the nuts evenly.
4. Add 2 tablespoons of the rosemary and 2 teaspoons of salt and toss again.
5. Once well mixed pour onto the sheet pan and spread out in one layer.
6. Roast the nuts for 25 minutes, stirring twice with a large metal spatula, until the nuts are glazed and golden brown.
7. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with 2 more teaspoons of salt (if needed) and the remaining 2 tablespoons of rosemary. Toss well and set aside at room temperature, tossing and stirring often to prevent sticking as they cool.
8. Serve or store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Thank you once again Ina Garten. "How Easy is That?" Really easy ... and good.

Pommes de Terre Sarladaises

Well it's only fair that I share the recipe for Pommes de Terre Sarladaise that I mentioned in the Duck Confit post last week. For those among us who are not vegetarians, duck fat is the holy grail, it can make the toughest of us swoon, and the bi-product of making yummy duck confit is duck fat and lots of it.

Pommes de Terre Sarladaises is served everywhere in the Dordogne part of Southern France and is easy to make at home, there are only four ingredients: potatoes, duck fat, garlic and parsley. How easy is that? If butter makes everything better, duck fat makes it betterer! These skillet-fried potatoes have a gorgeous silkiness and golden-crisp edges. It makes me swoon just thinking of them. Good thing I still have duck fat in the fridge!

Pommes de Terre Sarladaises
(Serves 6)

4 tablespoons duck fat*
10 russet or Yukon Gold potatoes (about 3 pounds), peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
Salt and pepper
======================================

Heat the duck fat in a heavy frying pan or wok. Add the potatoes and sauté, tossing frequently with a wooden spoon, until they start to brown, about 25 minutes.

Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper, the garlic and the parsley. Serve warm.

* These days you can even get duck fat in containers at stores like Citarella. 

Duck Confit

The first time I ever had duck confit I truly thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Well, I was nearly there as I was in Paris with Peter in a bistro on the Left Bank and he introduced me to one of his favorite meals, Duck Confit with Pommes de Terre Sarladaises (Potatoes cooked in duck fat, with garlic and parsley). The flavors and textures were divine and it's one of the most memorable meals I have ever had.

Back in the states, I did research to learn how duck confit is made and learned that confit means "preserved" and duck confit is prepared in a centuries-old process of preservation that consists of salt curing a pieces of duck, then cooking it a long time in low heat, and finally storing it in its own fat. This renders tough cuts like duck legs more tender, and when stored in duck fat in a cool place, they last all winter." While duck confit is made across France today, it is seen as a specialty of Gascony. 

Well in the 21st century, there are satisfactory abbreviated ways to prepare duck "confit" which result in duck as fall-off-the-bone good as following the age-old process. Given that we have refrigeration, storing the duck in fat is unnecessary. I've found numerous recipes for "Counterfeit Duck Confit" but the one we like I found through the N.Y. Times. It's truly easy, although it does take time as you must "cure" the duck legs in a salt and herb mixture over night, and cooking takes almost three and a half hours, but the end results are so worth the rewards.

Duck Confit
(Serves 4)

1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf, crumbled
8 foulard duck legs (about 4 pounds total), rinsed and patted dry but not trimmed
=======================================

1. In a small bowl, combine the set, pepper thyme and bay leaf pieces. Sprinkle duck generously with the mixture. Place duck legs in a pan in one layer. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 hours.
2. The next day, heat the oven to 325 ℉. Remove much of the salt mixture from the duck legs with a paper towel. Place duck legs, fat side down, in a large overproof skillet, with legs fitting snugly in a single layer (this is critical). (You may have to use 2 skillets or cook them in batches.)
3. Heat duck legs over medium-high heat until the fat starts to render. When there is about ¼-inch of rendered fat in the pan, about 20 minutes, turn the duck legs, cover the pan with foil and place them in the oven. If you have two pans, transfer the duck AND FAT to a roasting pan large enough to just hold the legs snugly, cover with foil and place in the oven.
4. Roast the legs for 2 hours, then remove the foil and continue roasting until the duck is golden brown, about 1 hour more.
5. Remove the duck from the fat; reserve the fat for other uses.
6. Serve the duck hot or warm, over roasted potatoes or noodles with a salad.

Honey-Spice Bread (Pain d'épices)

I truly believe this is my all time favorite bread. It is packed with flavor, subtly sweet, and it's a breeze to make, as there's no yeast with which to contend. 

D'épices?  Anise seed, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and ground cloves; and, they all blend with two types of flour. I have had at least one piece every day this week, some plain with my coffee in the morning, some slathered with chèvre for lunch, and some with foie gras and a chilled sauterne as the sun goes down. It's a dense bread that will also freeze well. 

Who do I thank for this one? David Lebovitz. A professional cook and baker, Lebovitz spent thirteen years at Chez Panisse in California working with Alice Waters and Executive Pastry Chef Lindsey Shere. He moved to Paris in 2004 and is now a very successful author and blogger (davidlebovitz.com). This gem of a recipe is from his book My Paris Kitchen which I recommend as a good read as well as a wonderful cook book. His perspectives on Paris in comparison to America are very entertaining.

 

Honey-Spice Bread a.k.a. Pain d'épices
(1 9-inch-loaf)

¾ cup honey (amber for lighter/sweeter; dark for assertive/deeper flavor)
½ cup packed light brown sugar
¾ cup water
½ teaspoon sea salt or Kosher salt
1 ⅓ cups of all-purpose flour
⅔ cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon whole or ground anise seed
1 teaspoon  ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
====================================

1. Preheat the oven to 350 ℉. Butter a 9-inch loaf pan and line the bottom with a sheet of parchment paper.
2. Heat the honey, brown sugar, water, and salt in a saucepan until it begins to boil. Decrease the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the all-purpose flour. Let cool to room temperature.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ⅓ cup all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour. baking powder, baking soda, anise, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
4. In a small bowl whisk together the egg and egg yolk.
5. Stir half the honey mixture into the dry ingredients, add the eggs, then the rest of the honey mixture, stirring just until smooth. (If any bits of flour remain, whisk the batter briefly to break them up and incorporate them.)
6. Scrape the mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool 20 minutes, loosen the sides of bread from the pan with a knife, then tip the bread out onto a wire cooling rack and cool completely. If possible, wait a day before slicing. Pain d'épices will keep for at least 1 week at room temperature, if well wrapped. It can also be frozen for up to 2 months.

VARIATION: Replace ¼ cup of honey with wild-flowered molasses for a more robustly flavored pain d'épices.

 

Filet Mignon with Mustard & Mushrooms

Being raised by a midwesterner, we often heard Mom exclaim "I need some red meat" which would usually mean sirloin steak cooked on the inside grill in the fireplace for dinner. I don't believe I ever had filet mignon until well into my adulthood and these days it's only affordable when bought at Costco. It's really very good on its own, but when combined with this over-the-moon-delicious sauce it's absolutely sublime. Mushrooms, sherry, brandy, Dijon mustard and cream - it does't get much better or simpler than that.

Filet Mignon with Mustard & Mushrooms
(Serves 4)

4 (2-inch-thick) filets mignon, tied (10 to 12 ounces each)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 ½ tablespoons fleur de sel
2 teaspoons coarsely cracked black peppercorns
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces cremini mushrooms, stemmed and sliced ¼-inch thick
2 tablespoons dry sherry
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon good olive oil
½ cup minced shallots (2 large shallots)
3 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
1 ¼ cups heavy cream,
¼ cup Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon whole-grain mustard
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
=========================================

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Be sure your oven is well ventilated.
  Heat a large (10-inch) cast-iron skillet over high heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Pat the filets dry with paper towels and brush all over with the canola oil. Combine the flour de see and cracked pepper on a small plate and roll the filets on the top, bottom, and sides in the seasoning, pressing lightly to coat. When the skillet is very hot, add the filets and sear evenly all over (top, bottom, and sides) for about 2 minutes per side.
• Transfer the steaks from the skillet to a sheet pan (set the skillet aside) and place in the oven for 8 to 12 minutes, until the steaks register 120 degrees on a meat thermometer for medium rare. Remove from the oven, cover the sheet pan tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the butter in a medium (10-inch) sauté pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until they release their juices. Stir in the sherry and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked through. Sprinkle with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and set aside.
• At the same time, add the olive oil to the skillet (don't wipe it out), add the shallots, and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the Cognac, stirring to deglaze the skillet, and cook for 2 minutes, until the Cognac evaporates and the shallots are tender. Stir in the cream and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, until thickened. Stir in the two mustards and taste for seasoning.
• Remove the strings from the filets and place on 4 warmed dinner plates. Spoon the mustard sauce around the filets. Spoon the mushrooms on top of the filets and sprinkle each with parsley. Serve hot.

Note: I find fleur de sel to be very salty; you might want to cut back a little before rolling the filets.

Thanks as always to Ina Garten this time for Cooking for Jeffrey.

 

 

Cider Roasted Pork Tenderloins

Peter and I remember loving a good pork chop when we were growing up and for many years we would buy pork chops, cook them in any number of ways, and always came away disappointed. What are "they" doing to pigs these days? Pork chops these days are flavorless. So Peter introduced me to pork tenderloins.

Pork tenderloins are easy to cook, always tender and lovely with a variety of sweet condiments like chutney, applesauce, and even cranberry sauce. Recently however, we found a recipe that is the real winner and a "definite repeat" as we say in my family. I liked this so much I even had a couple of slices cold for breakfast one morning. The marinade has almost a perfume-quality aroma with its hard cider / maple syrup base and the unique combination of fennel and coriander seeds, ground cinnamon, fresh ginger slices and fresh rosemary. As there are just two of us, I cooked each of the tenderloins on different nights, so one was in the marinade for three nights and it came out just the same as the first. We found hard cider in the refrigerated beer section of our grocery store. Don't substitute.

I encourage you to try this, it's truly tender and delicious.

Cider-Roasted Pork Tenderloins
(Serves 4-6)

1 (12-ounce) bottle of hard cider
¼ cup pure Grade A maple syrup
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
½ teaspoon whole coriander seeds
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 pork tenderloins (1 to 1¼ pounds each), trimmed
1 (1-inch) piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1½ tablespoons coarsely chopped rosemary leaves
Good olive oil
======================================

Combine the cider, maple syrup, and 3 tablespoons of salt in a 4-cup glass measuring cup. With a mortar and pestle, grind the fennel, peppercorns, coriander, and cinnamon together and add to the cider mixture. (The spices may also be put in a small plastic bag and crushed with a meat mallet.) Place the tenderloins in a 1-gallon Ziplock bag and pour in the marinade. Add the ginger and rosemary, squeeze the air out of the bag, seal, place on a plate, and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Remove the tenderloins from the marinade and dry them well with paper towels. Discard the marinade. Place the tenderloins on a sheet pan and rub them all over with 1 tablespoon olive oil, then sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until a meat thermometer inserted in the center reads 125 degrees. (Insert the thermometer horizontally through the large end of the tenderloin.) Remove from the oven and cover pan tightly with aluminum foil. Allow to rest 10 minutes. Cut the tenderloin diagonally into ½-inch-thick slices, sprinkle with salt, and serve warm with the condiment of choice.

Thanks as always to Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. This recipe is from her most recent cookbook, Cooking for Jeffrey.

 

 

Preserved Lemons

One of my favorite flavors is lemon. I love a good squeeze of tart lemon juice on broiled fish or in a thermos of cold ice water; I adore the sweet lemony flavor of lemon wafer cookies and lemon meringue pie; and now, I have fallen in love with the subtle complex flavor of preserved lemons.

There are a wide variety of uses for these gems. You can cut up very thin slivers of preserved lemon and add them to sautéed vegetables like green beans or carrots. You can mash them into butter with some fresh herbs and spread the mixture on top of grilled fish. A little could be added to a batch of tapenade, and a perfect use is to add  finely-chopped pieces to some homemade lemon ice cream. Preserved lemons elevate the flavors of everything to which they are added.

Easy to make, all you need are lemons, salt and a clean, large glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Combine them and give them some time and you have preserved lemons that can be kept in the refrigerator for up to six months.

Preserved Lemons

 8 to 10 organic lemons
½ cup plus Kosher or Coarse Sea Salt
=========================================

1. Scrub the lemons with a vegetable brush and dry them completely.
2. Cut off the little rounded bit at the stem end if there's a hard little piece of the stem attached.
3. From the other end, make a large cut by slicing lengthwise downward, stopping about 1-inch from the bottom, then making another downward slice, so you've incised the lemon with an X shape.
4. Pack salt into the lemon where you made the incisions. Don't be skimpy with the salt: use about 1 tablespoon per lemon.
5. Put the salt filled lemons in a clean, large glass jar with a tight fitting lid.
6. Add a few coriander seeds, a bay leaf, a dried chili, and a cinnamon stick if you want.
7. Press the lemons very firmly in the jar to get the juices flowing. Cover and let stand overnight.
8. The next day do the same, pressing the lemons down, encouraging them to release more juice as they start to soften. Repeat for 2-3 days until the lemons are completely covered with liquid. If your lemons aren't too juicy, add more freshly-squeezed lemon juice until they are submerged.
9. After 1 month, when the preserved lemons are soft, they're ready to use. Store the lemons in the refrigerator where they'll keep for 6 months. Rinse before using to remove the excess salt.
10. To use: Remove the lemons from the liquid and rinse. Split in half and scrape out the pulp. Slice the lemon peels into thin strips or cut into small dices. You may wish to press the pulp through a sieve to obtain the tasty juice, which can be used for flavoring as well, then discard the innards. Note: Sometimes you may see a sort of lacy, white substance clinging to preserved lemons in the jar; it is perfectly harmless, but should be rinsed off for aesthetic reasons just before they are used.

 

Homemade Bourbon Ice Cream

 The per capita consumption of ice cream in the U.S. in 2015 was over 13 pounds which is 13 pints, which one might say is just a little over 1 pint of ice cream per month. Many would say that isn't so bad. Yet there are people like me who are hard pressed to consume even 1 pint per year ... of the store-bought stuff.

Homemade ice cream, however, is a whole different story. It's creamier, fresher, tastier and comes in flavors I like, like Chocolate-Cinnamon Gelato with Toffee Bits, Lady Bird's Fresh Peach, Classic Fresh Strawberry, Blueberry-Lemon Sour Cream, Fennel, and Brown Sugar-Bourbon. The latter is one of Peter's favorites as bourbon is his beverage of choice around cocktail time and Bourbon Ice Cream pairs beautifully with Apple Galette.

This is the time of year to make things special for all you love. This is one yummy treat, for any holiday gathering, and you can make it ahead. Trust me, it'll be remembered for a very long time.

Bourbon Ice Cream
(Makes 5-6 cups a.k.a 1-1.5 quarts)

2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 cups half and half
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
5 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
=================================

• Bring first 3 ingredients to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until milk powder dissolves completely. Remove from heat.
• Combine egg yolks, sugar, brown sugar, and coarse salt in large owl; whisk until thick and blended.
• Gradually whisk hot cream mixture into yolk mixture.
• Return mixture to same saucepan.
• Stir over medium-low heat until custard thickens enough to leave a path on back of spoon when finger is drawn across and temperature ranges 175℉ to 178℉, about 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Mix in bourbon and vanilla extract. Refrigerate custard uncovered until cold, stirring occasionally, at least 3 hours.
• DO AHEAD: Custard can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.
  Process custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to container. Cover and freeze until solid, at least 6 hours and up to 2 days.

 

Apple Galette

Everyone knows I can't resist a galette of any sort, sweet or savory, and if you type "galette" in the Search box on this page you will see numerous recipes for these yummy, simple pastries. 

It's apple season here, and the farm stands around us are filled with fall fruits and vegetables, like apples, pumpkins, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower, and apples and pumpkins are The Milk Pail's specialty at this time of year.

The Milk Pail is a family-owned and operated farm and orchard in Water Mill and at this time of year they are famous for their wide variety of apples and their homemade cider. Neither can be beat anywhere on the East End. When I went in recently, I was overwhelmed by the choices available to me and had to seek guidance from one of the staff. I told her I planned on making an apple galette and she asked how much sugar I'd be using in the recipe. I didn't know, so she said she'd recommend the Zesta apples. Never having heard of them, she described them as having a flavor between tart and sweet - a safe bet for my creation. They turned out to be perfect. 

Apple Galette
(Serves 6-8)

For Crust
1 cup all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
2 teaspoons sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons ice water
1 egg lightly beaten, for egg wash
1 teaspoon superfine sugar for dusting pastry

For Filling
4 Golden Delicious apples (or Zesta)
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
=========================================

For Crust
In a food processor, combine the flour, butter, sugar and salt. Process just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds.
Add the ice water and pulse until the pastry begins to hold together, about 6 to 8 times. Do not let it form into a ball.
Transfer the dough to waxed paper; flatten the dough into a disk. Wrap the pastry in the waxed paper and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Line a large sheet pan with aluminum foil and then cover it with a piece of parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface, careful roll out the dough to a 12-13" circle. Transfer pastry to the lines sheet pan.

For Filling
Peel, halve and core the apples and slice them crosswise ¼-inch thick. Set aside the larger center pieces and coarsely chopped the end slices and any broken ones.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.

Assembly
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Spread the chopped apples over the pastry to within 1-inch of the edge.
Drizzle the honey over the apple pieces.
Decoratively arrange the apple slices on top in concentric circles or in slightly overlapping rows.
Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar evenly over the apples and dot with pieces of butter.
Fold the pastry edge up and over the apples to create a 1-inch border.
Brush the crust with the egg wash and dust with superfine sugar.
Bake the galette for about 1 hour, until the pastry is nicely browned and crisp, and all of the apples are tender.

Inspired by Jacques Pépin.

 

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce and turkey are inseparable in my mind like pen and ink, lock and key, nuts and bolts, bricks and mortar, needle and thread, hat and gloves, time and money, pencil and paper, milk and cookies, salt and pepper, love and marriage, belt and suspenders, ... whoa, sorry I got carried away.

At any rate, cranberry and turkey are a perfect pair and as kids we all loved cranberry jelly, the kind in the can that you took both ends off of and then let the cranberry cylinder slide out onto the serving dish. For the most part, we kids much preferred the smooth jelly to the lumpy whole-cranberry sauce. 

Well, once again, with adulthood comes broadening horizons and these days I love making my own lumpy cranberry sauce adding some sweet apples to the tart cranberries and then lacing the mixture with citrus juice and zests. It's simple, sweet, can be made ahead, and complements roast turkey perfectly. Thank you once again Barefoot Contessa, I couldn't entertain without you.

  

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

1 (12 ounce) bag fresh cranberries, cleaned
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and chopped
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
=====================================

• Cook the cranberries, sugar, and 1 cup of water in a saucepan over low heat for about 5 minutes, or until the skins pop open.
• Add the apple, zests, and juices and cook for 15 more minutes.
• Remove from the heat, let cool, and serve chilled. 

Rosemary Carrots

"Fresh Carrots" © Caludia Ward

Orange is the color of the Thanksgiving  holiday and that translates to pumpkins on the porch, table decorations, side dishes like butternut squash, candied yams, and sweet potato casserole, and pumpkin pie for dessert. With the exception of turkey, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce, I hated Thanksgiving-dinner food. My objection was not that most of what I disliked was orange but rather I didn't like the consistencies nor did I like the flavors. (The only thing worse than the orange food was the creamed pearl onions about which I can't even speak without gagging.)

When I was finally a grown up with my own house and I was the one hosting Thanksgiving dinner I was thrilled that I could plan a menu according to my tastes rather than others' expectations. If they didn't like it, they didn't have to return the next year. However, this self-centered non-traditional approach to this holiday meal needed to "be tempered", or at least that was the counsel I received. My concession? Orange rosemary carrots which lo and behold everyone liked - go figure!

So here I share with you the recipe from the New Doubleday Cookbook my concession to the demand for an orange side dish at Thanksgiving dinner.

Rosemary Carrots
(3-4 servings)

6 to 8 medium-size carrots, peeled and cut into serving size pieces
1 1/2 cups boiling water or beef or chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary (1/4 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh summer savory (1/4 teaspoon dried)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
======================================

• Boil or steam carrots, covered in lightly salted boiling water as follows: 35-45 minutes for whole carrots; 20-25 minutes for halved or quartered; 10-15 for thickly sliced.
• Drain, return to cooking pot, add seasonings (pepper, butter, rosemary, summer savory, lemon juice, and brown sugar), and warm, uncovered over very low heat for about 5 minutes until the butter and brown sugar melt.
  
  

Stuffing Alternative

Leek & Artichoke Bread Pudding © Claudia Ward

Preparing for the holidays and holiday meals can be stressful, especially if you want everything to be ready at the same time and at least warm if not piping hot. I've found a savory bread pudding to be a very satisfactory and satisfying alternative to stuffing, and it's meant to be cooked "outside the bird". I can assemble this one or two days before the feast, refrigerate it covered, and then just bake it off in the final hour before we sit down. Looking to make your holiday a little easier, try this - it's really tasty too.

Leek & Artichoke Bread Pudding
(Serves 8)

8 cups (1-inch diced) day-old bakery white bread, crusts removed
3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta
6 cups (1/2-inch diced) leeks, white and light green parts (5 leeks)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (9-ounce) package frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted
3 tablespoons minced chives
2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon leaves
4 extra-large eggs
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups grated Emmentaler Swiss cheese (8 ounces)
=====================================

• Preheat the oven to 350℉.
• Place the bread cubes on a sheet pan and bake for 15 minutes, tossing once, until lightly browned. Place the pancetta in one layer on another sheet pan and bake in the same oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Place the pancetta on a plate lined with paper towels and set aside.
• Meanwhile, soak the leeks in water until they are clean, and spin them dry in a salad spinner.
• Heat the butter in an 11-inch pot over medium heat, add leeks, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the wine, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and cook for 5 minutes, until the wine almost evaporates and the leeks are tender.
• Off the heat, mix in the artichokes, toasted bread cubes, chives, and tarragon.
• Whisk the eggs, cream, chicken stock, nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon salt together in a large bowl.
• Spoon half of the bread mixture into a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish.
• Sprinkle with half the Emmentaler and add the remaining bread mixture.
• Pour on the cream mixture, sprinkle with the remaining Emmentaler, and press lightly to help the bread absorb the liquid.
• Dice or crumble the pancetta, scatter on top, and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
• Set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes to allow the bread to absorb the cream mixture.
• Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the pudding is puffed and golden. Serve hot.
  
  

Make-Ahead Roast Turkey

Thanksgiving is meant to be a day when groups, large and small, get together giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. One would think this would be a time to set differences aside and give thanks also for the companionship of family and friends. Whoever selected the turkey as the centerpiece for this holiday just wasn't thinking or never understood the strong, unwavering preferences people bring to the Thanksgiving table when it comes to turkey. 

There are dark meat lovers and white meat lovers and "never the twain shall meet". Traditionally cooking a whole turkey results either in perfectly cooked white meat and under done dark meat, or dried out white meat and succulent dark meat; it's been impossible to achieve perfection for both camps and one group is always disappointed and a little resentful of the other, thus upsetting the harmony of the holiday. Enter a simplistically brilliant solution from the Barefoot Contessa ... separate the light and dark meat once the white meat is nearly done, and finish cooking the dark meat until it's nearly done. Reunite them and warm everything atop some yummy gravy on an ovenproof platter. We were so pleased because my husband is a dark-meat-lover kind of guy and I am white-meat-only kind of girl ... and "never the twain shall meet" ... until now. Now we can look forward harmonious holiday feasts.

Make-Ahead Roast Turkey
(Serves 8)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 (12-14-pound) fresh turkey
1 large yellow onion, unpeeled and cut in eighths
1 lemon quartered
8 sprigs fresh thyme
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy (Separate recipe)
===================================

• Two or three days before you plan to roast the turkey, combine 3 tablespoons of salt, the minced thyme, and lemon zest. Wash the turkey inside and out, drain it well, and pat it all over with paper towels. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the salt mixture in the cavity of the turkey and rub the rest on the skin, including under the wings and legs. Place the turkey in a shallow dish just large enough to hold it and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for one or two days. The day before you plan to roast the turkey, remove the plastic wrap and leave the turkey in the fridge. The skin will dry out and turn a little translucent.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Put the turkey in a large roasting pan, discarding any juices in the dish. Place the onion, lemon, and thyme sprigs in the cavity. With kitchen string, tie the legs together and the wings close to the body. Brush the turkey with the butter and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
• Roast the turkey for 2 to 2 ½ hours, until the breast meat registers 165 degrees (put thermometer in sideways) on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from the oven and place the turkey on a platter. Cut off the legs and thighs and put them back in the roasting pan, covering the breast and carcass tightly with aluminum foil.
• Place the roasting pan back in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the dark meat registers 180 degrees. Remove the dark meat to the platter with the turkey, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
• Now place the roasting pan on the stove top and finish the gravy. Over medium heat add 1 cup of dry white wine. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring and scraping up all the bits clinging to the bottom of the pan. Slowly whisk in the previously made gravy base into the pan. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until the gravy is smooth and slightly thickened. Taste for seasonings and serve hot.
• Pour a 1/4-inch layer of the gravy into a large (12 x 16-inch), ovenproof serving platter (make sure it's ovenproof!). Carve the turkey and arrange it artfully on top of the gravy. (Note: Remove the entire breast to a cutting board and then slice it diagonally into thick slices.)
• Place the platter uncovered into the oven for 15 to 30 minutes, until the turkey is very hot.
• Serve hot with extra gravy on the side.
• Make It Ahead: Roast and slice the turkey and assemble it on the gravy. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for up to 1 hour before reheating in the oven.

Fall Sangria

 

The holidays are rapidly approaching and thoughts of entertaining family and friends. A year ago Bobby Flay and Ina Garten did a show together and Flay made this amazing Sangria. Two kinds of apples, two kinds of pears, pomegranate seeds, orange and cinnamon, marinated in a combination of red wine, and pear and apple brandies. It's refreshing and unusual - great for a festive occasion.

Fall Sangria
(10-12 servings)

1 bottle Cabernet Sauvignon
1 1/2 cups apple cider
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons apple brandy
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons pear brandy
1/4 cup Cinnamon Simple Syrup, recipe follows
2 soaked cinnamon sticks (from Cinnamon Simple Syrup)
1 small Gala or Fuji apple, cored and thinly sliced
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced
1 small red pear, cored and thinly sliced
1 small green pear, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 small pomegranate, seeded
1/2 orange, thinly sliced and each sliced halved
Ice, to serve (optional)

Cinnamon Simple Syrup:
1 cup granulated sugar
5 whole cinnamon sticks
=======================================

Combine the wine, apple cider, apple brandy, pear brandy, Cinnamon Simple Syrup and fruits in a large container with a lid and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 72 hours. Transfer to a pitcher before serving. Serve in red wine goblets over ice, if using.

Cinnamon Simple Syrup
Combine the sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil over high heat and cook until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 3 minutes. Transfer the syrup to a container with a lid, add the cinnamon sticks and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 48 hours. The longer it sits, the more intense the flavor. Remove the cinnamon sticks and save to add to the sangria mixture. Yield: 2 cups simple syrup.

Thyme-Roasted Marcona Almonds

Marcona almonds are a very special product from Spain, special like San Marzano tomatoes from Italy or caviar from Russia. They are shorter, rounder, softer and sweeter than the California variety we are all so used to. As Spanish cuisine has become more and more popular, these are more readily available. They are delightful on their own, but roasted with some fresh thyme they are sublime. A real treat.

Thyme-Roasted Marcona Almonds
(Serves 6-8)

1 pound roasted, salted Marcona almonds
2 teaspoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
====================================

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the almonds, olive oil, thymes, and kosher salt on a sheet pan and toss them together. Roast the almonds for 10-15 minutes, turning them every 5 minutes with a metal spatula, until they are lightly browned. Watch them carefully; they go from underbred to burnt very quickly.

Sprinkle with flour de sel, toss, and set aside to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: Store the cooled nuts in a sealed container at room temperature for a week or two.

Holiday Menu

Peter and I often have unusual meals for our holidays like a Seafood "Clam Bake" for Thanksgiving dinner or Roasted Garlic, Endive and Goat Cheese for Christmas breakfast, but we're yearning a little for the days of yore and thus I'm planning a traditional holiday menu this year, with minor modifications.

You all know I love to cook and have compiled an extensive collection of my favorite recipes over the years pulled from hundreds of cookbooks, magazines, and newspapers. This year our holiday menu will be created from my favorites of all time - my favorite recipes and my favorite cookbook authors. Needless to say a number of the recipes will come from the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks. Bobby Flay provided a yummy original cocktail solution. The New Double Day Cookbook (now not so new - originally published in 1975) was my go-to cookbook for my early post-college cooking days and provided a delightful carrot recipe with a twist; and, Jacques Pépin provided a simple and delicious dessert.

I've made each of these recipes several times and just know we'll be happy with the results, and I plan on sharing each of these recipes and my photos with you over the next several weeks.

So here are the "previews of coming attractions":

Thyme-Roasted Marcona Almonds (Barefoot Foolproof)
Fall Sangria (Bobby Flay)
Make Ahead Roast Turkey and Turkey Gravy with Onions & Sage (Barefoot Make It Ahead)
Leek & Artichoke Bread Pudding (Barefoot Make It Ahead)
Rosemary Carrots (The New Doubleday Cookbook)
Cranberry Sauce (Barefoot Thanksgiving)
Apple Galette (Jacques Pépin) 
Homemade Bourbon Ice Cream (Bon Appétit or Gourmet ?) 

Apple Tarte Tatin

Apple Tarte Tatin, a.k.a. "tarte des demoiselles Tatin", is a famous French dessert - a simple apple upside-down-tart. Originally made only with butter, sugar, apples and a pastry crust, history is unclear about exactly where this recipe was created but credit is given these days to the sisters Tatin.

Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin ran the Hotel Tatin in the late 19th century in Lamotte-Beuvron about 100 miles south of Paris in the Loir et Cher Department of Central France in the historic region of Sologne. Stéphanie did most of the cooking and one story says, on an over-worked day, Stéphanie started making a traditional apple pie and left the apples and sugar cooking too long. Smelling the nearly burned mixture and trying to rescue the dish, she put the pastry-base on top of the apples, quickly finished the cooking by placing it in the oven, and then turned it upside-down before serving. She was surprised by how much the hotel guests liked the dessert and it became a specialty of the hotel. Another version of the tart's history is that Stéphanie baked a caramelized apple tart upside down "by mistake" which I find difficult if not impossible to believe. 

According to Friends of the Tarte Tatin, "some scholars have pointed out that upside-down tartes have long been a specialty of the Sologne region. There are references to a 'tart solognote', which may have been a forerunner of the tart Tatin, but the documentation supporting these claims is thin." Rather than argue whether they borrowed from the past, we should celebrate the Tatin sisters for leveraging that past into something truly original and really yummy.

The following recipe is from The Paris Cookbook by Patricia Wells, who says  she loves it so much that she makes it for her birthday in November, "instead of cake!" It may sound complicated but it's truly not and you will be rewarded with incredible aromas while it cooks and equally incredible flavors when it's done. I would never have thought of serving a dessert with crème fraîche, but it works really well with this tart. Bon appétit!

Pâte Brisée (Flakey Pastry)

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
3 tablespoons ice water
====================================

• Place flour and sea salt in the bowl of a food processor and process to blend.
• Add the butter and process until well blended, about 10 seconds.
• With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube and process just until the mixture begins to form a ball, about 10 seconds.
• Transfer the dough to a piece of waxed paper, form, into a disk, wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
• Roll the dough out form a 10-inch round.
• Place it on a piece of parchment or waxed paper on a sheet pan.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Tarte Tatin Benoît
(8 servings)

3/4 cup sugar
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into thick slices
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 pounds large apples (about 8), peeled, cored, and halved (e.g. Fuji, Jonagold, Winesap, King of the Pippins, Calville)
1 recipe Pâte Brisée
Crème fraîche or whipped cream, for garnish
===================================

• Spread the sugar evenly over the bottom of a 9-inch tarte Tatin or heavy ovenproof (cast iron) skillet.

• Place the butter slices evenly over the sugar.
• Drizzle with the vanilla extract.

• Beginning at the outside edge of the pan, stand the apple halves on end on top of the butter. They should all face in one direction, with the rounded edge of the apple against the edge of the pan and the cut side toward the center. Pack the apples as close together as possible. Make a second circle of apple halves inside the first. Place one apple half in the center of the circle (rounded side down unlike the one in this photo!) to fill any remaining space. (As they cook, the apples will shrink and give up their juices. They will also naturally slide into place as they shrink, with the rounded sides sliding to the bottom. Remember that when you invert the tart, you want to see nice rounded halves of apple.)

• Place the skillet over low heat and cook the apples in the butter and sugar, uncovered, until the butter/sugar mixture turns a thick, golden brown and just begins to caramelize, about an hour. The liquid should remain at a gentle bubble. Baste the apples (ice tea spoon) from time to time to speed up the cooking and to make for evenly cooked fruit. (If the apples seem to lose their place, you can carefully nudge them back into formation.)
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Place the Tatin pan on a baking sheet (lined).

• Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and place it on top of the apples, gently pushing the edges of the pastry down around the edge of the pan.

• Place in the oven and bake until the pastry is golden, 25-30 minutes. Do not be concerned if the juices bubble over - this is normal.

• Remove the tart from the oven. Immediately invert a rimmed serving platter (pizza tin lined with parchment paper) over the tart pan. Quickly but carefully invert the tart pan and the platter together so the pastry ends up on the platter, with the apples on top. Should any apples stick to the bottom of the pan, remove them and place them back in the tart.
• Serve warm or at room temperature, with dollops of crème fraîche.

 

Mujaddara

Crisp caramelized onions, fluffy jasmine rice, and plump French lentils, maybe with a dollop of yogurt (plain or spiced), all sounds good to me. We are always trying to find flavorful side dishes that also make great leftovers, and Mujaddara fits the bill. Research tells us Mujaddara is a Middle Eastern dish with many variations but most are based on the simple combination of rice, lentil and onions. We found the combined textures a surprising pleasure and the flavors ... delightful at the start, improve with age. Add some spices to some plain yogurt for zip and serve with a salad of your own creation, and this could be a delicious meal ... even for a carnivore.

Mujaddara
(Serves 4)

¾ cup Puys lentils (a.k.a. French lentils, the tiny dark brown ones)
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 cup  jasmine rice
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups onions (about 3 medium onions), halved and thinly sliced
==========================================

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Put lentils, ½ teaspoon salt, and 4 cups of water in a large pot and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer lentils until soft but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Drain the lentils and set aside. Rinse the pot.
• Add rice, the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 ½ cups water to an oven-proof pot, set over medium heat and bring to a boil. When the water begins to boil, cover pot, transfer to oven, and cook for 17 minutes until perfectly cooked. Remove from oven, uncover, and fluff with a fork. Set aside.
• While the rice cooks, set a wide, deep sauce pan over medium-low heat and add butter and 2 tablespoons olive oil. When the butter is mostly melted, add onions and toss to incorporate with the butter and oil.
• After 5 minutes, onions will have softened slightly and started to release their liquid. Raise heat to medium and cook 10 to 12 minutes more, until the onions are very soft and browned. Add water by the tablespoon if pan gets too dry or onions start to stick. When the onions are well browned, add the last tablespoon of olive oil and raise the heat to high. Cook another 3 to 4 minutes, until bottom layer of onions has charred and crisped; try not to stir too much, or onions won't crisp.
• Combine rice, lentils, and most of the onions in a large serving bowl and  let sit at least 15 minutes, to marry the flavors together. (Truth be told, this dish improves with age.) Taste and add more onions as desired.
• Serve with yogurt, plain or spiced, and a salad.
• If the mujaddara has cooled significantly, reheat in a low oven or even in the microwave for a couple of minutes.

 

 

Warm Fig & Arugula Salad

Fresh figs abound at this time of year and I can honestly say that I'd never had one until this week. Guess I'm getting adventurous as time goes by. Everyone knows that the Barefoot Contessa i.e. Ina Garten is one of my favorite cookbook authors. In nine books, with the scores of her recipes that I've made, I can count on one hand the number that we didn't care for. Given those odds, I decided to try the Warm Fig & Arugula Salad in her latest book Make It Ahead. I adore peppery arugula, Peter loves piquant blue cheese, and we both appreciate a good toasted walnut, so how bad could this be adding fresh warm figs. This was one of the best (and simplest) salads we've ever had and the sherry vinegar and honey vinaigrette finished it perfectly.

Warm Fig & Arugula Salad
(Serves 6)

Salad
8 to 12 ripe fresh figs, depending on their size
1 cup whole walnut halves (4 ounces)
8 to 10 cups baby arugula (9 ounces)
8 ounces crumbled Roquefort/ blue cheese

Vinaigrette
½ cup aged sherry vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup good olive oil
===================================

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Vinaigrette
In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper. While whisking, slowly add the olive oil. Set aside.

Salad
Remove the stems from the figs with a small knife. Depending on the sizes, cut the figs in half or quarters through the stem end. Place the figs and walnuts together in a single layer on a sheet pan and roast for 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the ripeness of the figs, until they begin to release some of their juices.
Meanwhile, place arugula in a large bowl, add the vinaigrette, and toss well. Distribute the arugula among 6 salad plates, add the Roquefort/ blue cheese, and then place the warm figs and walnuts on top. Serve immediately.

Blueberry Lemon Crostata

Given the success of the Strawberry Lime Crostata I made earlier, I decided to follow the author's suggestion and make a blueberry - lemon version. Midge on Food52 said she "cooked half my blueberries (2c) with a little cornstarch and sugar and mixed them in with fresh ones, à la classic double-good blueberry pie recipe, to firm up filling".

Never having heard of a "double-good blueberry pie recipe", I did some research and then created the following. For breakfast, lunch or dinner, this was simply yummy.

Blueberry Lemon Crostata

Tart Crust (makes 2)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into uniformed-sized cubes
1 large egg yolk
3 tablespoons heavy cream, divided
small glass ice water
1 tablespoon sanding sugar, granulated sugar is fine if you don't have the fancy stuff on hand

Filling
4 cups blueberries, rinsed and divided
¾ cup sugar, depending on the sweetness of your berries
3 tablespoons cornstarch
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice (some zest to taste)
======================================

Tart Crust

• Place flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor and pulse to mix.
• Add butter to flour mixture. Process just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds.
• Whisk together egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of the cream and process into flour mixture briefly.
• Add 2-3 tablespoons of ice water and piles just until the pastry begins to hold together, about 6 to 8 times. Add more water as needed. Do not let it form a ball.
• Transfer the pastry to waxed paper; form into two one inch-thick disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to four days. The recipe makes double the amount you need; freeze the other half or roll it out and cut it into strips for a lattice topping.

Filling

• Mix sugar and cornstarch in medium saucepan
• Add ¼ cup water and 2 cups of blueberries. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the mixture is thick (it will be quite thick), clear, and boiling.
• Remove from heat, add lemon juice (optional zest), and cool.

Assembly and Cooking

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  On a floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to about 1/8 inch-thick. Carefully fold the dough in half and then in quarters to transfer to a pie dish or parchment-lined sheet pan.
• Place the remaining 2 cups of blueberries on or in the pastry. Top with the cooked blueberry mixture.
• Gently gather and fold the overhanging crust over the pie.
• Brush with the remaining tablespoon of cream and sprinkle generously with sugar.
• If you’re using a pie dish, stick a sheet pan underneath it to catch spills.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes until crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.

 

 

Figs

Fresh figs are everywhere these days, in small pint baskets at the farm stands and in flats at stores like Citarella. Until this week, I'd never had a fresh fig. My only exposure to figs was as a child with Fig Newton cookies. Remember those dry flat tubes filled with fig paste? I seriously disliked those fig roles, and thus I've avoided figs my whole life until now. 

As it happens, fresh figs are pure delight in a wonderfully complex little package. "They are lusciously sweet with a texture that combines the chewiness of their flesh, the smoothness of their skin, and the crunchiness of their seeds."¹

Figs grow on the Ficus tree (Ficus cardiac), which is a member of the Mulberry family and come in a wide variety of shapes and colors. Most figs are dried which produces a sweet and nutritious dried fruit that can be enjoyed throughout the year. But, when you find fresh figs in your market sometime between July and late fall, depending on your location, make sure to pick some up. They are wonderful eaten on their own, in a salad, or as an appetizer like these Roasted Figs & Prosciutto.

Roasted Figs & Prosciutto
(Serves 10) 

20 large fresh figs
20 thin slices Italian prosciutto (about 8 ounces)
Good olive oil
====================================

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Snip the hard stems off the figs and cut figs in half lengthwise through the stem.
• With a small sharp knife, cut the prosciutto lengthwise into inch-wide strips.
• Wrap a strip of prosciutto around the center of each fig half, with the ends overlapping.
• Brush with olive oil and arrange cut side up on a sheet pan.
• Roast the figs for 10 minutes, until the prosciutto is a little crisp and the figs are warmed through. Serve warm.

 

¹whfoods.com, The World's Healthiest Foods
Thanks again to the Barefoot Contessa, How Easy Is That?

 

Watermelon Rind Pickles

My memories of the food of my childhood summers include cold poached salmon with mayonnaise and capers for the 4th of July (it's a Cape Cod thing), fresh grilled corn on the cob, and chilled, sweet watermelon. Not only was the latter tasty but it was such fun to eat. As an adult, I was introduced to pickled watermelon rinds from a jar in the pickle section of the grocery store. I loved these too - dense, chewy, and sweet, stored in a thick syrup.

Peter loves the Huffington Post and as part of  it’s "Reclaim" project, HuffPost Taste is focusing on simple ways to reduce waste in our homes for the entire month of July. One suggestion is to make watermelon rind pickles with that part that we usually throw away. They pointed out ever so clearly that we are paying for watermelon by the pound so we should probably find a use for the heaviest part of this fruit. Thus, homemade watermelon rind pickles.

The biggest challenge here is peeling the green from the rind. You must apply pressure to cut into it at the same time you're taking care not to allow the peeler to slip and knick you. Practice will reveal the right technique for you. Watermelon rind pickles are a great addition to any relish tray to accompany sandwiches, hamburgers or just plain cheese but they can also be cut up into smaller pieces and added to salads.

Watermelon Rind Pickles
(3 8-ounce jars)

Rind from a 4-5 pound piece of watermelon (about ¼ of a melon)
2 tablespoons salt
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup of sugar
1 cup water
1½ tablespoons pickling spices
=====================================

• Scoop out the flesh from the watermelon and reserve for eating.
• Peel the green skin off the watermelon with a sharp vegetable peeler and then ⅛-inch more of the lighter green "rind".
• Cut white rind into spears that are about ½-inch side and 2-inches long. (They must be able to stand in an 8-ounce "pickling" jar.)
• Bring a medium saucepan full of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt. Boil the watermelon rinds for about 4 minutes, until they just begin to turn translucent and become soft when stabbed with a fork. Drain and let cool for handling.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, water, and pickling spices. Bring to a boil, until the sugar has dissolved.
• Place the cooled rinds in the pickling jars, tightly packed. Carefully pour the pickling liquid into each jar, until the liquid nearly reaches the top. Screw the top on the jars and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. The pickles can be eaten after just a few hours. 

Quinoa Tabbouleh with or without Feta

A longtime friend came to visit over the 4th and, always trying to be a gracious hostess, I wanted to make some fun dishes for us all to enjoy. The challenge? She became a vegan several years ago which eliminated all meat (including poultry and fish, for the most part) and all dairy (including butter and eggs, for the most part). However, she did say she would eat fresh, local fish caught that day, and would also allow a little Parmesan in a dish. She also knew I had my heart set on making a blueberry crostata and conceded that butter is always a part of a really good pastry crust.

For days before her arrival, I combed all of my cookbooks trying to find recipes that would provide a variety of flavors, textures, and colors. Knowing that quinoa is considered a "superfood" because it has more protein than most grains, I wanted to find a recipe full of flavor and I did. Reading this recipe, I thought it would be quite dull but, in fact, it's quite the opposite. All those herbs 2 cups to be exact, one of chopped mint and the other of chopped parsley, make this a salad packed with flavor, and the quinoa, cucumbers and scallions add their crunch. This is going to be my "go to" salad recipe for any gathering this summer.

Quinoa Tabbouleh with or without Feta
(Serves 8)

1 cup quinoa
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
¼ cup good olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced scallions, white and green parts (5 scallions)
1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves (2 bunches)
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and medium-diced
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved through the stem
2 cups medium-diced feta (8 ounces)
=====================================

• Pour 2 cups of water into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the quinoa and 1 teaspoon of salt, lower the heat, and simmer covered for 15 minutes, until the grains are tender and open (they'll have little curly tails).
• Drain, place in a bowl, and immediately add the lemon juice, olive oil, and 1½  teaspoons of salt.
• In a large bowl, combine the scallions, mint, parsley, cucumber, tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.
• Add the quinoa and mix well.
• Carefully fold in the feta (if using) and taste for seasonings. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate and serve cold.

 Thank goodness for Ina Garten and Make It Ahead.

 

Strawberry Lime Crostata

Strawberry season is sadly at an end here on the East End and despite a fridge filled with bowls of prepared strawberries for yogurt in the morning and ice cream at night, I couldn't resist buying the very last box of these small, sweet delights at our favorite farm stand - Babinski's this past weekend. The question was, what "something special" could I do with them and for that Food52 helped out with a recipe for Strawberry Lime Crostata.

I could be wrong but I'm thinking a crostata is for Italians what a galette is for the French - certainly they are similar in construct and intent. Flakey pastry casually wrapped over a fruit filling creating the simplest and some of the best desserts I've ever enjoyed. I thought the combination of strawberries and lime sounded unusual enough to try and this is the flakiest pastry I have ever made. My husband and I enjoyed this for dessert one evening with ice cream and for breakfast twice ... with ice cream, for him! He has proclaimed this as one of the top 5 "desserts" I've ever made. 

Strawberry Lime Crostata
1 9-inch crostata

Tart Crust (makes 2)
2 cups all purpose flou
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into uniformed-sized cubes
1 large egg yolk
3 tablespoons heavy cream, divided
small glass ice water
1 tablespoon sanding sugar, granulated sugar is fine if you don't have the fancy stuff on hand

Filling
4 cups strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and halved (quarter the large ones)
1/4 to 1/3 cups sugar, depending on the sweetness of your berries
2 tablespoons strawberry jam, preferably homemade
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 lime, tested and juiced
======================================

Tart Crust

• Place flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor and pulse to mix.
• Add butter to flour mixture. Process just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds.
• Whisk together egg yolk and two tablespoons of the cream and process into flour mixture briefly.
• Add 2-3 tablespoons of ice water and pulse just until the pastry begins to hold together, about 6 to 8 times. Add more water as needed. Do not let it form a ball.
• Transfer the pastry to waxed paper; form into two one inch-thick disks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to four days. The recipe makes double the amount you need; freeze the other half or roll it out and cut it into strips for a lattice topping.

Filling

• Meanwhile, mix berries with sugar, lime zest and juice, cornstarch, and jam. Let sit for about 20 minutes.

Assembly

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• On a floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to about 1/8 inch-thick. Carefully fold the dough in half and then in quarters to transfer to a pie dish or parchment-lined sheet pan. Use a pie dish if the strawberries are super juicy.
• Fill the crust with the berry mixture. 
• Gently gather and fold the overhanging crust over the pie.
• Brush with the remaining cream and sprinkle generously with sugar.
• If you’re using a pie dish, stick a sheet pan underneath it to catch spills.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes until crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.

  

 

 

 

Herb-Roasted Fish

What a wonderful summer meal - Herb-Roasted Fish. Here in the Hamptons, we have fabulous farm stands everywhere and many now offer local fresh fish as well. Large coolers with life tops hold Fluke, Salmon, Halibut, Scallops (in season), and even lobsters. 

Fluke is a lovely mild flavored white fish that resembles flounder in size and shape. This recipe for Herb-Roasted Fish is full of flavor and can be made ahead. Parchment paper "pockets" seal the flavors in and make this appear to be a fancy meal but it's really very simple. The French call that "en papillote" (in parchment). I've found the biggest challenge is to keep the olive oil and lemon juice from running out of the "pocket" as I'm sealing it shut with the egg white wash. Practice makes perfect and I now make this almost weekly, especially when we can get fluke. Try it. This is a real winner.

Herb-Roasted Fish
(Serves 4)

4 (12 x 16-inch) pieces of parchment paper
4 (8-ounce) boneless skin-on fish fillets, such as snapper or cod or fluke
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons good olive oil
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
8 sprigs of thyme
8 Cerignola or other large green olives with pits
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
========================================

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Place the pieces of parchment paper on a flat surface, fold them in half crosswise, and cut each piece like a large paper heart cutout. Open the fold flat and place each fillet lengthwise just to the right of the fold.
• On each fillet, sprinkle ¼ teaspoons salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 2 sprigs of thyme, and place 2 olives alongside the fish.
• Brush the edges of the entire parchment paper with the egg whites. Fold the left side of the parchment paper over the right side so the edges line up, creating a packet. Press the edges to create a seal. Starting at the edge at the top of the heart, make overlapping folds in the parchment, until you reach the "tail" of the heart. Fold the last end underneath to seal the packet.
• TIPS:
  1) Assemble each packet separately; do not try to do all four in an assembly line.
  2) Combine the salt and pepper for each packet in small ramekins. Stop to mix well.
  3) When preparing the first packet, sprinkle the fish with the salt and pepper, add the two olives and top the fish with two sprigs of thyme, THEN add the fluids.
  4) Combine the tablespoons of olive oil and lemon juice in individual small measuring cups before adding them to each fish. This makes assembly faster which is important because the oil and juice really spread out and follow gravity.
  5) Paint the edges of the paper with the beaten egg whites before adding the oil and juice which does two things, first, it stops the paper from curling up on itself, and second, it allows quick closure of the packet after the fluids have been added.
• Place all the packets on sheets pans, making sure the oil and lemon juice don't run out when you transfer them.
• Bake for 15 minutes exactly.
• Place each packet on a dinner plate, cut an X in the middle with scissors, and serve hot, allowing each person to tear open the packet.
  NOTE: You can prepare the packages and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

 Thanks once again to Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa for her last cookbook Make It Ahead.

 

 

Black Bean & Corn Salad with Chipotle-Honey Vinaigrette

A while back I came upon website that I fell in love with because all of the recipes are packed with flavor. It's called Once Upon a Chef. I've made and shared a lot of them like the Thai Crunch Salad with a Peanut Dressing and Asparagus Soup, but somehow, I overlooked posting one of our all-time favorite go-to recipes - the Black Bean & Corn Salad with a Chipotle-Honey "Vinaigrette".

We have a container of this in our fridge all summer long, as it's a great complement to nearly every summer menu - fish, chicken, steak ... even Crunchy Chicken. I even take it to the beach and it keeps really well (if you don't add the avocados until serving time). So, drum roll please, allow me to introduce Once Upon a Chef's Black Bean & Corn Salad with Chipotle-Honey Vinaigrette.

Black Bean & Corn Salad
(Serves 6 at least)

1 cup chopped red onion
1 (14.5 oz) can black beans
2 ears fresh corn cooked (about 2 cups)
1 red bell pepper, diced (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh chopped cilantro (plus a bit more for garnish, if desired)
1 avocado
=======================================

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the corn, cover, and turn heat down to low. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the corn from the water and let cool.
• Meanwhile, place the chopped red onions in a small bowl and cover with water. Let sit about ten minutes, then drain completely in a sieve and set aside.
• Place the beans in a fine sieve; run under cold water to rinse well. Let drain completely and set aside.
• Holding the cooled corn upright in a large bowl, cut the kernels off the cob in strips.
• Add the beans, red onion, red bell pepper and cilantro.
• Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour or preferably overnight.
• Right before serving, slice avocado in half. Remove the pit; using a butter knife, cut a grid in each half. Holding the avocado halves over the salad, use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. Toss the salad gently, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (The Chef usually adds a squeeze of fresh lime to freshen it up). Garnish with a bit of fresh chopped cilantro if desired. Serve cold.

Chipotle-Honey Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from 1-2 limes
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (I prefer 1, 2 is too hot)
=====================================

• Make the dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a blender or mini food processor; process until smooth. 

Crunchy Chicken

Hands down, Crunchy Chicken is one of my all-time favorite chicken recipes. I like it hot for dinner, room temperature and sliced for a buffet, or sliced and cold for a picnic. It's eye-catching, flavorful, and easy to make. I think the hardest, most time-consuming part of this recipe is rolling out the Pepperidge Farm Stuffing Mix so there aren't big chucks of dried bread and the ground stuffing adheres to the marinated chicken better.

This recipe is all about the "marinade". The tangy combination of sour cream, lemon juice, worchestershire sauce, celery salt and paprika coat the chicken and cling to the stuffing mix, creating a killer combination. Finish it with melted butter (so the bread won't burn, of course), and voilà, one of the best tasting chicken dishes you will ever have.

Crunchy Chicken
(Serves 10 or more)

½ pint (8 ounces) sour cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons worchestershire sauce
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8-10 boneless chicken breast halves (Bell & Evans thin-sliced boneless chicken breasts)
1 14-ounce package of Herb-Seasoned Classic Pepperidge Farm Stuffing - ground fine
=======================================

• Mix the ingredients with a whisk in a large bowl. Place the boneless chicken pieces in the mixture covering each with the "marinade". Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.
• Pour some of the Pepperidge Farm Stuffing on a large, washable, cutting board covered with aluminum foil. Roll over the stuffing with a rolling pin to break down the large pieces. Place a piece of the coated chicken on the stuffing, toss with crumbs, pressing on them to ensure they adhere. Turn the chicken piece to ensure each side is evenly coated. Roll each breast piece, making a pinwheel, and then place in an 8" x 8" pyrex "brownie" pan. Repeat for each piece, placing them in the pan touching each other.
• Melt a stick of butter and pour evenly over all of the chicken. Bake at 400 degrees, uncovered, for 40 minutes.
• Serve hot, room temperature or cold. 

Garlic & Herb Roasted Shrimp

Roasting shrimp is easy and it produces delicious results, especially when you add butter, garlic, rosemary, and lots of lemon. Served with rice, you don't miss out on any of the yummy sauce. Remember asparagus and broccoli also love lemon butter. Dipping bread is a must.

Garlic & Herb Roasted Shrimp
(Serves 4)

¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large lemons
2 pounds (8- to 10-count) shrimp, peeled with the tails on
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
4 slices country bread, toasted
====================================

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Melt butter over low heat in a medium (10-inch) sauté pan. Add the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper and cook over low heat for one minute. Off the heat, zest one of the lemons directly into the butter mixture.
• Meanwhile, arrange the shrimp snugly in one layer in a large (12-inch) round ovenproof sauté pan (or 10 x 13-inch baking dish) with only the tails overlapping. Pour the butter mixture over the shrimp. Sprinkle with the sea salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Slice the ends off the tested lemon, cut five (¼-inch-thick) slices, and tuck them among the shrimp. Roast for 12 to 15 minutes, just until the shrimp are firm, pink, and cooked through. Cut the remaining lemon in half and squeeze the juice onto the shrimp. Serve hot with the toasted bread for dipping into the garlic butter.

Make It Ahead by Ina Garten says "Prep the dish and refrigerate it in the pan. Roast before serving." This works beautifully.

P.S. Here's a photo using a pyrex baking dish instead.

 

 

 

 

Chili Scott's Way

In our house growing up, Sunday was "the cook's" day off, so a big pot of chili or spaghetti sauce was simmering on the stove around supper time, and we were allowed to get some anytime we wanted. I believe the chili recipe was my father's or at least it was one he approved of and true to that period of time the tomato part of the chili recipe was provided by Campbell's canned tomato soup - preservatives and all.

Sitting at the bar at Bobbie Van's one recent afternoon, we were catching up with the bartender Scott, comparing notes about the season, trading jibes about the "beautiful people", and sharing recipes to be cooked on short winter days. Scott said he was about to make a big batch of his chili, a recipe he said he's honed over the years, one that is guaranteed to make the house smell wonderful and to feed you well throughout these winter months, right out of the freezer. As he began to itemize the ingredients, I stopped him and asked for some paper, as it just sounded so good.

The list of ingredients is long but I'm here to tell you this is truly some of the best chili I have ever had, and it is one of my favorite winter dinners topped with some chopped, raw yellow onion, some grated cheddar cheese, and maybe a dollop of sour cream - if I really want to gild that lily. So the house smelled wonderful and my freezer is now stocked with enough chili to get us through to Spring (I think).

Chili Scott's Way
(3-5 quarts) 

1 large can black beans, undrained
1 large can kidney beans, undrained
1 large can pinto beans, undrained
1 small can black beans, undrained
1 large can stewed tomatoes
1 small can diced tomatoes
1 large (or two small) red onions, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 large white onion, chopped
1 bunch of scallions, chopped (whites and greens)
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
4 to 5 stalks of celery, washed and chopped
1 decent size jalopeno, seeded and diced fine
3 pounds ground pork
6 to 9 tablespoons of chili powder, divided
2 to 3 teaspoons salt (to taste)
Freshly ground pepper
Tobasco sauce (to taste)
=================================

• Prepare all of the ingredients - mise en place.
• Add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to a very large pot. Add all of the onions and sweat for about 10 minutes.
• Add the remaining chopped vegetables and cook, stirring from time to time, for another 10 minutes.
• Add 2 tablespoons of chili powder and stir.
• Add the pork and brown, this will take at least 10 minutes if not longer.
• Add 2 tablespoons of chili powder and stir.
• Add the beans, undrained, and the tomatoes. Stir to combine thoroughly.
• Add 2 tablespoons of chili powder and stir. Add more to taste.
• Add salt in increments throughout the cooking process.
• Add a large can of beer and stir.
• Cook over low heat for 4-5 hours.

 

 

 

Wild Mushroom Onion Galette with Brie

Yes I found another galette recipe, thanks to Food52 (check out their site, it's great!). Listen to those ingredients - wild mushrooms, onions, and brie, how could it be bad, and fresh rosemary lends its essence beautifully.

The original recipe calls for the use of frozen puff pastry, which I do have in the freezer, but I decided that making my own Pâte Brisée would be just as good, if not better. The time it would take for the puff pastry to thaw in the refrigerator would equal if not exceed the amount of time it would take to make my own pastry.

The medley of mushroom flavors and textures complemented the caramelized onions and the brie simply melted into a delightful, subtle layer of cheese. This galette is mild and light, and not a crumb remained by the end of lunch.

Wild Mushroom Onion Galette with Brie
(Serves 8 or 4 hungry people)

1 large onion - peeled and sliced
1 large shallot - peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil + some to drizzle
1½ cups mixed wild mushrooms (Crimini, oyster and/or beech) - cleaned and chopped
½ cup dried porcini mushrooms - chopped
½ cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry - thawed OR 1 recipe of Pâte Brisée (recipe below)
½ pound brie - crust removed
Salt and pepper
Scallions sliced lengthwise - white and some green parts (optional)
1+ tablespoon unsalted butter, melted (Use with puff pastry)
1 egg, whisked with a teaspoon of cold water (Egg wash for Pâte Brisée)
==================================================

• Put the dried mushrooms and wine in a heat proof dish and microwave it on high for a minute to soften. Set them aside.
• Heat the butter and olive oil in a medium skillet. When the butter is melted and bubbling hot, add onions, shallots, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until they are browned and caramel-ey. Using a slotted spoon, remove the onions to a bowl.
• Add in all of the mushrooms along with the wine to the same pan with the remaining fat. Season with salt and pepper and cook until they are soft.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lay the puff pastry on a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
• Arrange the onions and mushrooms on the pastry, leave a 2-inch border.
  
• Sprinkle the rosemary over the onions and mushrooms.
• Now cut the brie into chunks and arrange on top.
  Gently fold the edges of the pastry up and over the perimeter. The vegetables will only be partially covered. Arrange the scallion pieces on top of the exposed vegetables. Drizzle or brush the scallions with olive oil. Brush the puff pastry with the melted butter. If using the Pâte Brisée, brush the pastry with the egg wash. Sprinkle the entire galette with sea salt.
• Bake until the crust is puffed and golden brown, about 25 minutes.
• Cool for a few minutes so it can set, but serve warm.

 

Pâte Brisée = Flakey Pastry

1 cup of all-purpose flour (do not use unbleached)
7 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
¹⁄₈ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons of ice water
=====================================

Place 1 cup of flour, the butter pieces and salt in a food processor.
Process just until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds.
Add the ice water and pulse just until the pastry begins to come together, about 6-10 times. Do not let it form a ball.
Transfer the pastry to waxed paper, flatten the dough into a disk. (If the dough seems too sticky, sprinkle it with additional flour, incorporating 1 Tablespoon at a time.)
Wrap the pastry in waxed paper. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Roll out to desired dimensions, place on parchment lined sheet pan, chill 15 minutes.
Once tart or galette is assembled, brush with egg wash.

 

Pear Galettes with Spelt Crusts

It appears that I've never met a galette I didn't like. The Fennel, Onion & Mushroom Galette with a Gruyère Crust and the Tomato and Gruyère Cheese Galette both made wonderful main courses for lunch. The Potato and Thyme Galette provided a welcome change to ordinary potatoes when it accompanied our roast chicken; and, the Peach Galette stood alone in our dessert category of yummy sweet galettes until now, when I must add another - Pear Galettes with Spelt Crust. Served with vanilla ice cream, this galette ranks amongst the top five desserts I've ever had (by taste).

Since there are only two of us (and we only had 2 pears), I split the recipe in half which worked out perfectly. The only real challenge I had was trying to seal the folded edges of the pastry over the pears. They say to add the equivalent of half a pear to each galette which seemed to be too much for each pastry triangle. I would probably roll each triangle out a little more before placing them on the lined baking sheet. However, scrutinizing Food52's photo of this dessert reveals that they added the pears standing on their edges - which would make containing them inside the galette much easier as they wouldn't take up as much room. Next time.

Oh there was one other challenge and that was making room in my freezer to accommodate the sheet pan for 25 minutes without being tilted. The good news is we have a small freezer that holds most of our frozen soups, so we were able to clear out a flat space in the refrigerator freezer for the pan.

I just know you'll like the subtle pear flavors complemented by the apricot preserves with a hint of vanilla throughout - all inside a flakey, tasty pastry crust.

Pear Galettes with Spelt Crusts
(Makes 8 small tarts)

For the spelt crust:

6 ounces spelt flour
6 ounces all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
8 ounces unsalted butter
6 to 8 tablespoons ice water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

For the pears:

4 medium pears, ripe but still firm
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup apricot jam
1 egg, for egg wash
2 tablespoons coarse sugar, to finish
===================================

• Place the flours and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times to thoroughly mix.
• Cut the butter into ¼-inch cubes. Add the butter to the flour mixture and pulse 3-5 times to combine; butter will be the size of small peas distributed throughout.
• Add the cider vinegar to 8 tablespoons of ice water. With the motor running, add the water slowly through the feed tube. Run until the mixture just starts to come together. (You've added enough water when you can pick up a handful of the dough and squeeze it without it falling apart.) Dump the dough out onto a large piece of waxed paper, press it together and then split in half. Form each half into a disk and wrap each in wax paper or plastic wrap. Chill the dough for at least one hour before using, or overnight.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Just before you are ready to roll out the dough, peel, core, and thinly slice the pears. Toss the pear slices in a large bowl with the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla bean seeds, cinnamon, ginger and salt.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of the dough into a 12-inch circle about ⅛-inch thick. Use a knife or pastry wheel to cut the dough into quarters. Transfer the dough to one of the prepared baking sheets. Spread one tablespoon of apricot preserves onto each dough quarter, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges. Arrange a handful of pear slices over the top in a decorative pattern (standing on their edges). Use about ½ a pear per galette.
• Fold the edges of the dough over the pears and press gently to seal the dough together. PUT THE BAKING SHEET IN THE FREEZER and repeat with the other round of dough. Place that sheet in the freezer too. Freeze the tarts for 25 minutes or until firm.
• While the tarts are chilling, preheat the oven to 425℉ and whisk the egg in a small dish.
• When you are ready to bake, brush the edges of each tart with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake the tarts, rotating the pans halfway through until they are deep golden brown and crisp, 30-40 minutes. Cool slightly and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

 

Mustard & Gruyère Batons

 

Every time I make the recipe for Ham & Leek Empanadas, I always have a leftover sheet of defrosted puff pastry and the question begs, "What can I do with just one sheet?" Answer: Mustard & Gruyère Batons. These are easy and addictive. They're great with nearly any kind of soup (shown here with a cup of Split Pea & Ham), make a slightly salty addition to the cocktail hour, and are easy "nibbles" to have around for the holidays.

 Mustard & Gruyère Batons
( Makes 10 to 12 batons)

 Flour for dusting the board
1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed and very cold
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash
3 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Flaked salt, such as Malden, for sprinkling
===================================

• Unfold the sheet of puff pastry on a all-floured board, and roll it to 11 x 13-inch rectangle with a floured rolling pin. (Diagonal strokes keep the pastry rectangle.) With a shorter end closest to you, brush the lower half go the pastry even;y with the mustard, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges. Brush the border of the pastry with the egg wash and fold the top half over the bottom half, lining up the edges. Place the pastry on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and chill 15 minutes.
• Place the pastry on a board and trim the three irregular edges with a sharp knife. With the folded edge away from you, cut the pastry in 1 x 6-inch strips. You will have 10 to 12 batons. Spread the batons out on the sheet pan so they're not touching. Brush the tops lightly with the egg wash (don't allow the egg wash to drip down the sides.) and sprinkle evenly with the Gruyère, Parmesan, and 1½ teaspoons sea salt. Chill for at least 15 minutes.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Bake the batons for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown and puffed. Allow to cool on the pan for 3 minutes and serve warm.

Thanks again Ina - Ms. Foolproof!

 

 

Ham & Leek Empanadas

These Ham and Leek Empanadas were a Godsend this past summer when Peter and I were doing the outdoor art festival circuit. You cannot imagine how tired and dirty you are after setting up in a field or park on a hot summer day. By the time you're home, it's all you can do to strip off the dirty clothes, throw them in the hamper, put on a bathing suit, and submerge yourself in the hot tub with a cool drink chaser. Once clean and revived from all that warm water, you are bone-weary tired and the last thing you want to do is cook.

Enter, previously made and frozen Ham & Leek Empanadas. One of these with a salad was a frequent dinner for us throughout the summer, and I'm so glad I had the foresight to think of freezing them. They defrost quickly and taste just as good as when they first came out of the oven. I recommend these to anyone managing a tight work schedule who doesn't want to eat processed foods. You won't regret the decision to make these ahead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ham & Leek Empanadas
(Makes 12)

1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
1½ cups small-diced leeks, white and light green parts
⅓ cup crème fraîche
4 ounces (¼-inch-diced) smoked ham, such as Black Forest
4 ounces crated Gruyère cheese
2 ounces fresh baby spinach, coarsely chopped (2 cups)
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour
3 sheets frozen puff pastry, defrosted (2 packages)
1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons milk, for egg wash
Flour de sell or sea salt
==================================

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.
• Melt butter over medium-low heat in a medium (10-inch) sauté pan. Add the leeks and sauté for 4 minutes, until tender but not browned. Stir in the crème fraîche and simmer for a minute.
• Combine the ham and Gruyère in a medium bowl. Add the leek mixture, then the spinach, basil, Parmesan, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Mix and set aside.
• Sprinkle a cutting board with flour, roll out one sheet of pastry to an 11 x 11-inch square, and cut it into 4 equal squares. Brush the edge of each square with the egg wash and place ⅓ cup of the filling in the middle. Fold the square diagonally to make a triangle, lining up the edges of the pastry. Place the triangles on the prepared sheet pans and press the edges with the tines of a fork to seal. (Do not place them too close together; they expand during cooking and will connect with one another.) Brush the triangles with the egg wash and sprinkle with flour de sel and pepper. Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and serve hot.

In Make It Ahead Ina Garten says "Make and fill the empanadas, wrap tightly, and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Brush with egg wash and bake directly from the refrigerator or freezer before serving."

This summer, I cooked all of the empanadas and then, after they completely cooled, wrapped them in packages of two and put them in well marked freezer bags. When we wanted some for dinner, I placed them on a foil-lined sheet pan and heated then for about 20 minutes in a 250 degree oven.

 

Tomato and Gruyère Cheese Galette

Favorite all-time lunch? A tart of almost any sort, a salad, and a crisp, cool glass of white wine, and I now include galettes in the category of tarts. This one is simple, and light, made with local, in-season, tomatoes - heirlooms when I can get them. And the corn meal in the crust gives it a wonderful little crunch. What a perfect way to end the season.

Tomato & Gruyere Cheese Galette
(Serves 6) 

Cornmeal Galette Pastry
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
⅓ cup finely ground cornmeal
1 teaspoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted cold butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
¼ cup ice water

Galette Filling
1 large or 2 medium (about ¾ pounds) ripe heirloom tomatoes
Sea salt
1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil for brushing
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg white, whisked, for egg wash
==================================

• In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt. Cut in the chilled butter using a stand mixer, a food processor, or a pastry blender until it's evenly distributed but still in large, visible pieces. Add the olive oil and ice water and mix until the pastry begins to come together. Gather the pastry with your hands and shape it into flattened round. Shape into 2 flattened rounds for 2 small galettes or 1 flattened round for 1 large galette. Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling. Can be made ahead and refrigerated up to 3 days.
• While pastry firms in refrigerator, slice tomatoes about ¼-inch thick, lightly salt and spread on paper towels to drain. Let set and blot off excess moisture.
• Place oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375℉.
• On a large piece of parchment paper that has been lightly sprinkled with cornmeal, roll out dough into a 15-inch round. Please the parchment paper with dough onto a baking sheet. If your baking sheet has sides, flip it over and use the back so that all sides of the galette will brown. Trim off excess parchment paper that hangs past the sides of the sides of the baking sheet. Lift the sides of the dough with a metal spatula to make sure it's not sticking.
• Sprinkle gruyère cheese over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border without filling. Sprinkle basil over cheese. Arrange the tomato slices in a single layer over the cheese and basil.
• Brush the tomato with a little olive oil and season with freshly ground black pepper. Fold the flaps of extra dough inward over the tomatoes, pleating as you go to form a folded-over border. Pinch together any tears in the dough. Brush the exposed crust with egg white. 
• Bake until the crust is golden brown about 35 to 45 minutes. Slide the galette off the parchment paper and onto a cooling rack. Let cool for 10 minutes. Cut the tomato gruyère galette into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

Fennel, Onion & Mushroom Galette with Gruyère Crust

Galettes are the easiest pastries to make and I'm officially hooked. Food52 is a great recipe site and I found a recipe for this galette there and then added mushrooms to make it a heartier meal. The crust is light with the clear flavor of my favorite cheese - Gruyère and you can never go wrong with caramelized onions and fennel - in my humble opinion.

Caramelizing does take time, so plan accordingly - it took me the full hour to get that perfect color and sweetness. I had a box of crimini mushrooms that I peeled and cut up into bite-size pieces before sautéing them in a little butter and olive oil. I simply added them to the fennel/onion mixture and then filled the pastry.

I won't sugar-coat things, this does take some time and a little effort, but we both think it's well worth the results. Yum! (Did I really say that?)

Fennel, Onion & Mushroom Galette
with Gruyere Crust
(Serves 6)

For the tart crust:
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
3 ounces Gruyere, grated
¼ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
¼ cup ice water
1 egg yolk, whisked, for egg wash

For the filling:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 large fennel bulb, core and tops removed, thinly sliced
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves removed from the stem
1 teaspoon brandy
2 teaspoons dry sherry
2 teaspoons dry white wine
1 teaspoon Pernod or Anisette
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, peeled, stems removed, and sliced thin
===================================

To make the crust dough:

• Add the flour and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse about 3 times to combine. Add the cubed butter and grated cheese to the bowl and pulse until the size of the butter resembles small peas.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water and add this to the butter-flour mixture in the bowl of the food processor. Pulse several times until the dough starts to hold together when pinched between your fingers. The dough may seem dry.
• Lightly sprinkle flour on the counter and dump out the dough. Using a bench scraper, push the dough into a 12- by 4-inch rectangle. Using the palm of your hand, push the dough away from yourself. Once you have pushed out all of the dough, repeat the process. After the second round of pushing out, use the bench scraper to form a 4-inch thick round. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for about an hour.

To make the filling:

• In a large sauté pan (12-inches) melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat. Add the fennel, stir to coat with the melted butter and sauté for 10 minutes.
• Add the onions and thyme and sauté for 25 minutes to an hour, until onions and fennel are very tender and caramelized.
• Pour in the brandy, sherry and wine and deglaze the pan by scraping the brown bits off the bottom.
• When the fennel and onions are fully cooked, add the Pernod/Anisette and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• In a medium sauté pan, melt 1 tablespoon butter in olive oil. Add the mushrooms and sauté until well done but not crisp. Add to the fennel/onion mixture.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the dough on a piece of floured parchment paper until it is about 12-inches in diameter. Put the parchment and dough onto a baking sheet. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for about 15-20 minutes.
• Take the dough out of the refrigerator.
• Mound the fennel-onion-mushroom mixture in the middle of the dough, leaving a 2 ½-inch border.
• Break off some of the fennel fronds and sprinkle over the top of the filling.
• Fold up the outer 2-inches of the dough over the filling, leaving ½-inch inside the fold free of filling.
• Brush the dough with the beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Bake for 50-55 minutes until the crust is deep golden brown and the middle of the filling is hot to the touch and lightly browned.
• Cool the tart on a rack for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the parchment and let the tart continue to cool on the rack for at least another 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

 

Peach Galette

How do I relax in the middle of the summer art festival season? I cook. It occupies my mind (a must), I enjoy the required organization (no surprise there), and the results are usually delicious (the reward for a job well-done). I haven't been able to partake as thoroughly as I would have liked in all the incredible fresh fruit and produce we have here on the East End this summer season, but I'm trying at every possible opening, and there was one last week. Guess what? Fresh peaches are here!

Peaches are my absolute favorite fruit on earth and my favorite preparation is the simplest - peeled, sliced, ripe peaches, with a dusting of confectioners sugar and a dollop of cold milk. It is a sublime way to start the day. However, today I started with something new: a Fresh Peach Galette with a dollop of vanilla ice cream (for calcium of course).

I bought almost two pounds of peaches from Babinski's Farm Stand just before last weekend, not wanting to miss them at the height of the season, and then the weekend and another art festival was upon us. By the time that was behind us, I'd lost a couple, which infuriated me, so I peeled and sliced the remaining peaches, and wrapped them under plastic in a bowl and put them in the fridge hoping I could buy myself one more day.

Cooking seemed in order for these peachy gems and I found the simplest recipe - for a galette. What's that?  I asked too. It's a simple pastry, wrapped around slightly sweetened cut fruit - making a "rustic" tart. Pâte Sucrée and it's cousin Pâte Brisée used to intimidate me but I can honestly say now that I find it simple to make, easy to roll out, and it makes the flakiest pastry in the world. The filling for this galette is simple too just peaches, a little sugar, a dash of salt, a little lemon juice and some cream of tarter to deal with all that peach juice. Try this before the season is over - it's wonderful for breakfast.

Pâte Sucrée
(1 12-13" pastry round)

1 cup all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
2 teaspoons sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons ice water
==================================

Place 1 cup of flour, the butter, sugar and salt in a food processor. Process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds. Add the ice water and pulse just until the pastry begins to hold together, about 6 to 8 times. Do not let it form a ball. Transfer the pastry to waxed paper, flatten the dough into a disk. If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle with additional flour, incorporating 1 tablespoon at a time. Wrap the pastry in waxed paper. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Peach Galette
(Serves 8)

1 1/2 pounds peaches, sliced 1/2 inch thick (4 3/4 cups)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 disk Pâte Sucrée
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Sanding sugar (optional) for sprinkling
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• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, then parchment. Stir together fruit, granulated sugar, lemon juice, salt, and cornstarch.
• Roll out pâte sucrée into a 13-inch round, about ⅛ inch thick, on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to baking sheet. Arrange fruit in center, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold over border to enclose fruit, leaving center open. Brush crust with egg, and sprinkle with sanding sugar.
• Bake until golden brown and bubbling in center, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet 10 minutes, then slide galette on parchment onto a wire rack. Let cool completely. Serve with whipped or ice cream.

 

 

Herb-Roasted Fish

Simple, easy and good are the requirements for meals at our house these days and this recipe from Ina Garten's Make It Ahead meets every one of them. I assemble the packets in the morning, place them on a foil-lined sheet pan in the fridge, and all I have to do at dinner time is preheat the oven and cook the fish for 15 minutes. Peter is wild about this way of cooking fish and moans with pleasure every time he takes his first bite permeated with the flavors of lemon, olives, and thyme.

Easy and delicious it is but beware ... there's a reason I added those "tips". If your kitchen counters are slanted as mine apparently are the lemon juice and olive oil likes to travel and it does so VERY quickly. Like a scout "Be Prepared" -  secure those flavors inside the paper packet, it's well worth it.

Herb-Roasted Fish
(Serves 4)

4 (12x16-inch) pieces of parchment paper
4 (8-ounce) boneless skin-on (or off) fish fillets, such as snapper or cod (or fluke or flounder)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons good olive oil
4 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
8 sprigs of fresh thyme
8 Cerignola or other large green olives with pits
2 egg whites, lightly beaten

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• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Place the pieces of parchment paper on a flat surface, fold them in half crosswise, and cut each piece like a large paper heart cutout. Open the fold flat and place each fillet lengthwise just to the right of the fold.
• On each fillet, sprinkle ½ teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 2 sprigs of thyme, and place 2 olives alongside the fish. (TIPS: 1. Assemble each packet separately; do not try to do all four in an assembly line. 2) Combine the salt and pepper for each packet in small ramekins. 3. When preparing the first packet, sprinkle the fish with the salt and pepper, add the two olives and top the fish with two sprigs of thyme, THEN add the fluids. 4. Combine the tablespoons of olive oil and lemon juice in individual small measuring cups before adding them to each fish. This makes assembly faster which is important because the oil and juice really spread out and follow gravity. 5. Paint the edges of the paper with the beaten egg whites before adding the oil and juice. This does two things, first, it stops the paper from curling up on itself, and second, it allows quick closure of the packet after the fluids have been added.)
• Brush the edges of the entire parchment paper with the egg whites. Fold the left side of the parchment paper over the right side so the edges line up, creating a packet. Press the edges to create a seal. Starting at the edge at the top of the heart, make overlapping folds in the parchment, until you reach the "tail" of the heart. Fold the last end underneath to seal the packet.
• Place all the packets on sheets pans, making sure the oil and lemon juice don't run out when you transfer them.
• Bake for 15 minutes exactly.
• Place each packet on a dinner plate, cut an X in the middle with scissors, and serve hot, allowing each person to tear open the packet.

Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing

We all are yearning for Spring and our palates have started to chime in. Peter and I love the heavy stews, roasts, and soups of winter but enough already. We're  pining for bright colors and flavors and are going to use this recipe for Thai Crunch Salad to satisfy those cravings.

Bright, crisp purple cabbage, orange carrots, red pepper, and the varied greens of cucumber, scallions and endamame tossed with a creamy peanut dressing packed with Thai flavors. This will be perfect with the Crispy Chicken Thighs we're planning on having tonight, or if you're inclined serve it with Honey, Lime & Sriracha Chicken Skewers (yum). The prep for this salad may seem like a lot of work but really if you keep the salad and the dressing separate, you can keep them in the refrigerator and assemble them on a moment's notice to accompany roast chicken or turkey, sautéed fish, or even a hamburger. Easy and tasty at your finger tips.

"Mise en Place" for the Thai Crunch Salad © 2014 Claudia Ward

Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing
(Serves 4)

For the Thai Peanut Dressing

¼ cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from one lime
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2½ tablespoons sugar
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1-inch square piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

For the Salad

4 cups chopped Napa cabbage or shredded coleslaw mix (add a little shredded red cabbage for color)
1 cup prepared shredded carrots
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 small English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and thinly sliced
1 cup cooked and shelled edamame
2 medium scallions, thinly sliced
½ cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro
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For the dressing: Combine all of the ingredients except the cilantro in a blender and process until completely smooth. Add the cilantro and blend for a few seconds until the cilantro is finely chopped. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the salad: Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. If serving right away, drizzle the peanut dressing over top and toss; otherwise, serve the dressing on the side so the salad doesn't get soggy.

 Thanks once again to Jenn Segal at Once Upon a Chef.