Before our latest dinner group dinner, to me the land of Sweden was basically IKEA, Tretorns, ABBA, gravlax and Alexander Skarsgard (yum). Well, our hostess for this dinner was Cecilia, our dinner group’s local Swedish "ambassador" and the perpetuator of the myth that all girls from Sweden are blonde and beautiful. In working with her on the menu, I learned many things about Swedish food culture and I especially loved learning about Swedish Christmas celebrations and how family food traditions are treasured and showcased during that magic time of year.

Once I had a conceptual idea of what to serve, I checked out a few cookbooks from the library, as most of Cecilia’s recipes were in Swedish: the stunningly photographed The Scandinavian Cookbook and the charming Swedish Table. Both books had a seasonal bent to them, which helped make these somewhat heavy dishes feel lighter and brighter with the incorporation of fresh produce. What was surprising to learn was that the Swedish seasons mirror the seasons of the Upper Midwest, except we are lacking the prime ocean access and its briny bounty.

I couldn't have been more pleased with the menu. The courses worked well with each other. The creamy and hearty soup and the equally hearty meatballs were balanced nicely with the tart and crisp salad and the meal ended with an apple trifle that wasn't at all heavy and showcased the beautiful, in-season fruit perfectly. Each course was led off with a rousing "Schnapps" song and a tipple (or shot) of aquavit. Needless to say, all who attended left with full bellies and rosy cheeks ... and a warm feeling in their hearts. Skal!

Menu for SEPTEMBER 18

Cocktails and nibbles:
Icy-cold Vodka and Champagne
The Carlsson Family's Gravlax and store-bought pate with water crackers and toast

First Course: Yellow Pea Soup with bacon, tomatoes and parsley (The Swedish Table)

Second Course: Chanterelle, bacon and plum salad with blue cheese (The Scandinavian Cookbook)

Main Course: Swedish Meatballs with creamy mashed potatoes and served with an orange-scented cranberry sauce

Dessert: Apple Trifle (The Scandinavian Cookbook)

Happy eating, -s.

Ratatouille — I love this word. It's a fun one to say and a treat to eat. My version simplifies matters by roasting the vegetables instead of sautéing each separately in a sauté pan. After a caramelizing roast in the oven, the veggies get doused in some good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. Besides being an ideal side dish to almost anything, it makes a mean grilled cheese sandwich filling, as well as a superb pasta sauce. Goat cheese is its friend, too — slather it on some crostini and top with some ratatouille; the perfect late summer starter.

Oven-Roasted Ratatouille

make 6-8 side servings

Ingredients
1 large globe eggplant or 4 Asian eggplants, chopped into 2-inch pieces
2 red bell or heirloom peppers, chopped into 2-inch pieces
2 green zucchini, quartered and sliced into large chunks
2 red onions, quartered and then sliced into large chunks
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
2 large cloves of garlic, minced finely
¼ cup olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ lemon
Extra virgin olive oil (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a bowl, toss each vegetable separately with ½ teaspoon of herbes de Provence, some garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil and a large pinch of kosher salt and a few grinds of pepper. Place it on the sheet pan in one layer; continue with the remaining vegetables in the same manner.

Roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until soft and caramelized. Toss everything together in a larger serving bowl and add the lemon and olive oil. Serve hot or a room temperature.

At the market:
corn
Dreamfarm eggs
eggplant: globe and Japanese
ginger gold apples
green beans
heirloom sweet red peppers
kale
mint
red and yellow onions
tomatoes: slicers and mixed cherry
yukon gold potatoes
zucchini

Menu: week of 5 September 2010
Sunday: fried chicken and gravy with buttermilk biscuits and steamed green beans
Monday: BLT pizza
Tuesday: ricotta frittata with ratatouille
Wednesday: Corn and potato chowder
Thursday: Sauteed kale with fresh ricotta bruschetta
Friday: Tomato sandwiches with black-bean and edamame salad

Happy eating, -s.

Someone recently asked me how my summer was (as in past tense, over, done, finito) ... I know it's almost Labor Day, but as someone whose birthday typically lands on one of two days — either the last day of summer or the first day of fall — summer is most definitely not over (at least not for another 23 days)! And while I am learning that outdoor swimming pools close around this time of year and stores are filled with wool and tweed, Mother Nature — via farmers' market stands, CSA boxes and 90-degree days — is still screaming "SUMMER!" And so am I ... winter in Wisconsin is long. I'm savoring every hot day I can. We're still eating summer-style. I hope you do too. Stews and soups and casseroles can wait a few weeks, can't they?

In the box:
Basil
Cantaloupe
Cippolini Onions
Cucumbers
Dragon Tongue Beans
Edamame
Eggplant
Garlic
Poblano Peppers
Patty Pan Squash
Red Lettuce
Red Onions
Roma Tomatoes
Sweet Mini Peppers
Watermelon

At the market:
apples
hazelnut grahams from Potter's Crackers
milk
mint
Sassy Cow ice cream
sourdough raisin rolls from Madison Sourdough co.
tomatoes: slicers and red zebra

Menu: week of 28 August 2010
Saturday: ratatouille-stuffed grilled cheese sandwiches
Sunday: oven-roasted tomato and goat cheese pizza with fresh basil
Monday: chicken salsa verde with corn tortillas and a black-bean salad
Tuesday: roasted vegetable, orzo and feta salad
Wednesday: sausage and sweet pepper ciabatta sandwiches served with fresh dragon tongue beans
Thursday: linguine with basil pesto served with a tomato salad
Friday: TBD

Happy eating, -s.

The oppressive humidity and heat have finally lifted in Madison. Driving home last night, I had all the car windows open. With the breeze blowing in Pickle’s hair, he said to me, “it’s nice.” I had to agree.

We’ve been eating loads of tomatoes and with reports of a possible late blight, everyone should eat up this capricious crop while it lasts. There’s nothing better or simpler than a tomato sandwich: toast two slices of hearty bread, slice some tomatoes, slather both pieces of toast with mayonnaise, layer on the tomato slices, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, top with other piece of toast and voila! Lunch or dinner is served. Add some sliced melon and you have yourself a full meal of summer delights.

Our CSA box was burgeoning with vegetal goodness. Here’s what it held:
Bunch arugula
Broccoli
Cilantro
Collard greens
Corn
Cucumbers
Edamame
Eggplant
Garlic
Heirloom Tomatoes
Jalapeno Peppers
Patty Pan Squash
Red and yellow onions
Red Potatoes
Sungold Tomatoes
Sweet Mini Peppers
Tomatillos
Watermelon

Menu: week of 15 August 2010
Sunday: BLTs with heirloom tomatoes and arugula
Monday: sautéed sweet peppers and sausage pizza
Tuesday: roasted sungold tomato tart with caramelized onions served with sautéed corn
Wednesday: patty-pan squash and sweet pepper enchiladas with salsa verde and crema Mexicana
Thursday: patatas bravas served with steamed broccoli
Friday: eggplant cutlet sandwiches served with fresh ricotta, basil and marinara.

Happy eating, -s.

At the market
Asian melon
Basil
Dreamfarm eggs
Green & yellow zucchini
Mint
Plums
Raspberries
Red and yellow onions
Slicing tomatoes
Sungold tomatoes
White corn

Menu: week of 7 August 2010
Saturday: for Pickle: yellow-zucchini pancakes and raspberries (we went to Graze)
Sunday: BLT pizza
Monday: griddles sausages on toasted buns with caramelized rosemary-onions and Dijon mustard served with corn on the cob
Tuesday: Turkish eggs with sautéed zucchini and whole-grain flatbread
Wednesday: Tomato tart served with sautéed corn
Thursday: sautéed zucchini and red onion open-faced sandwiches served with a bean salad
Friday: carry out

Happy eating, -s.

I’ve have slowly come to the realization that there are two parties in this world: beet lovers and beet haters (no political affiliations here!). I am head-over-heels, a beet lover. Thankfully, Chris is too. Pickle is still on the fence. The beet haters, as I’ve come to learn, think that they taste like dirt. This is understandable, since that’s where they grow, but their earthiness is so nicely paired with their inherent sweetness — especially when roasted — that I can't understand the anti-beet sentiment. Anyway, this recipe is for the LOVAHs out there who can get enough beets!

The inspiration for this dish was that fact that I had a heck of a lot of beets in the fridge and needed to do something with them — new. I had been counting the days for tomato season to begin, so naturally I had panzanella on the brain. With some day-old bread on the counter and a bevy of basil from our CSA, I thought, “beet panzanella.” I’m sure someone else has made this before me, but I seriously thought I had a moment of brilliance, especially since I was utilizing a whole slew of ingredients from my overflowing icebox.

I roasted the beets the night before, so they were ready to go. While I baked the croutons in the oven, I prepped all the other ingredients, first by making the vinaigrette. Here’s one thing I learned in making this: a tomato-based panzanella is juicier, so you’ll need more dressing for the beet version. When the vinaigrette hits the tomatoes, they start releasing their own juices and this gets mixed into the salad and good things start to happen. Beets don’t have a lot going on in the juice department (poor beets), so you’ll need to compensate for that in a little more vinaigrette, but still go slow in adding it to the salad because there is nothing worse than an overdressed, gloppy salad.

With that, get roasting and chopping and mixing and dicing your way to beet happiness.

p.s. as you can see in the photo below, a fortunate or unfortunate side effect is the fantastic Technicolor-pink hue the entire salad takes on the minute the dressing hits the beets.

Beet Panzanella
Serves 4 hungry adults as a starter or 2-3 for a main course

Ingredients
6 medium-sized mixed beets (ruby, golden and Chioggia), roasted – I used the Marc Bittman version from How to Cook Everything since it’s super easy.
½ a red onion sliced very thinly into half moons
1 cucumber, seeded and diced
A large bunch of basil, roughly torn into pieces
½ loaf of day-old bread cut into 1-inch cubes
Olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper

For the vinaigrette:
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 teaspoons red wine vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (about 8 turns on the peppermill)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. On the baking sheet toss the bread cubes with a few glugs of olive oil, a large pinch or two of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Toss well and bake until the croutons are toasty browns and crisp all over – about 15 minutes.

While the croutons are baking, make the vinaigrette. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper until incorporated. While whisking, slowly pout the olive oil into the mustard-vinegar mixture until emulsified. Set aside.

Remove the blackened skin from the beet, trim the ends and cut into 1-inch pieces. Add them, along with the onions, cucumber, beets and basil to a large serving bowl.

The croutons should be done by now; remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. Add to the salad and toss with hands to evenly distribute everything. Add the vinaigrette. Taste and adjust for seasoning. Eat within the hour or the croutons start to lose their crispness.

Happy eating, -s.

Chris started his new job a few weeks ago, which means that he hasn’t been home until late most evenings. This has wrecked havoc on my nightly cooking routine since he would typically take Pickle on some sort of mini-adventure, providing me with 30 minutes of uninterrupted prep time — heaven. Without him, my menus have fallen to pieces and I have to whip things together on the fly or make my standard fallback of grilled cheese with avocado.

This week, I think I’ve got things figured out: meals that are either leftover friendly or easy to prep with a two-year-old running under foot. We’ll see how it goes … we can always have another grilled cheese and avocado sandwich, especially if it is made with Big Ed’s Farmstyle Gouda. Yum.

In the box:
Banana pepper
Cauliflower
Chioggia Beets
Cippolini Onions
Cucumbers
Garlic
Green Beans
Green Bell Peppers
Jalapeno Peppers
Sage
Sauté Mix
Sungold Tomatoes
Tomatoes — Roma and heirloom
Zucchini

Menu: week of 31 July 2010
Saturday: crostata of cippolini onions, sungold tomatoes and Big Ed’s Farmstyle Gouda from Saxon Creamery with sautéed corn
Sunday: zucchini pancakes with curried Greek yogurt and sungold-tomato salsa cruda (see photo above)
Monday: spicy ground pork with sautéed greens and brown rice
Tuesday: pappardelle with sautéed broccoli, green beans and zucchini in a Parmigiano Reggiano infused cream
Wednesday: mixed peppers and sausage pizza
Thursday: pappa al pomodoro
Friday: roasted beet and salumi sandwiches with arugula and creamy Parmigiano dressing

happy eating, -s.