this week's menu

My husband and I are of two mindsets when it comes to summer weather: he likes it about 72 degrees, no humidity and sunny; I like it about 82 degrees, a little humidity (my hair looks better when there's some humidity) and sunny.

Well, he's been getting his wish this August. It's been relatively cool and not summer-like at all. But weather be damned! A little cold and rain is not going to stop me from eating like it's hot out! Here's our summer-loving CSA delivery and what we're noshing on this week.

In our CSA box:
Arugula
Broccoli
Curly Parsley
Garlic
Green Bell Pepper
Green Zucchini
Heirloom Tomatoes
Mini Red Watermelon
Poblano Pepper
Red Potatoes
Red Slicer Tomatoes
Sungold Tomatoes
Sweet Corn
Yellow Onions

Menu: week of 29 August 2009
Saturday: Corn and poblano soup with warm, crusty bread
Sunday: BLT pizza: told you we were having it every weekend!
Monday: Roasted vegetable orzo pasta salad
Tuesday: Panzanella Caprese
Wednesday: Grilled turkey sausages and peppers with roasted red potatoes
Thursday: Tomato sandwices with a watermelon-bacon-arugula salad
Friday: Whole-wheat pasta with sautéed zucchini, corn and tomato

recipe: eggplant, tomato and fresh mozzerella napoleons

My husband Chris is obsessed with eggplant. During football season he makes numerous batches of Marc Bittman's delicious eggplant dip from How to Cook Everything. A new football-watching favorite is from his boss who is Italian; he shared his recipe for breaded eggplant "cutlets" that he serves hot with wedges of lemon – pretty divine, too. Well, we had an eggplant in our CSA box and it was just staring at me every time I opened the fridge. Since Chris LOVES eggplant, I thought I would showcase it for our lunch last weekend. Taking the simplicity of flavors in Bittman's dip with the crispy-creamy ying and yang of the cutlets, I came up with these "napoleons." I got two thumbs up from my eggplant connoisseur, which in my book is a success. I hope you like them too!

Eggplant, Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella Napoleons

Ingredients:
1 clove garlic, peeled – cut one end off
1 medium-sized eggplant, sliced into ½-inch disks
1 large slicing tomato, sliced into ½-inch disks
1 ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced into ½-inch disks
¼ cup whole-wheat flour

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4-8 basil leaves
Sea salt for garnish

Directions:
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. While the pan is preheating, rub each eggplant cutlet with the cut end of the garlic clove. Add flour, a large pinch of salt and pepper to a Ziploc bag and shake the eggplant disks to lightly dust them with flour. Shake off excess flour and add a layer of eggplant to the pan – don’t overcrowd the pan. Cook 3-4 minutes on each side, until dark golden brown and the interior yields gently to pressure. Drain on paper towels and cook other batch of eggplant in the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil.

Layer the eggplant with a tomato slice (season with a pinch of salt and pepper), then 2 basil leaves and topped with mozzarella. Repeat layers once more and then drizzle with really, really good olive oil and pinch of flakey sea salt. Eat post haste.

things I need to make before summer comes to an end

I don't like thinking about summer's end, but this weekend is supposed to be damn cold for August (63 degrees and cloudy, brrr) and it makes me sad – there's so much cooking, grilling and sweating to do before September 22 and the first, official day of fall.

Here's the list of things I want to cook while still in season:

1. panzanella: our fall back is the Barefoot Contessa's solid take, but Gourmet.com featured a Panzanella Caprese – how's that for a marriage made in heaven? May have to veer off course for that one!

2. grilled red bell peppers to sock away in the freezer for the long winter ahead

3. plum or apricot crostata with sour cream ice cream

4. fresh corn pancakes with maple syrup and butter: yum

5. grilled lamb chops with mint-pistachio pesto

6. corn and poblano soup – check out my recipe here.

What are you still craving to eat this summer?

recipe: BLT pizza

This is inspired by the BLT pizza currently on the menu at Lombardino's – a fabulous local Italian restaurant that's one of our favorite haunts. For the crust, I use Marc Bittman's basic pizza dough recipe. The "sauce" is just a head of roasted garlic, mashed with salt and pepper and a tablespoon of olive oil. I roast the tomatoes and bacon in the oven ahead of time and use Cedar Grove's Organic Mozzarella. Once it's out of the oven, I top with fresh baby arugula and let it wilt slightly before cutting. Chris is pretty generous with the compliments when he eats my food, but this has received more oohs and aahs than anything I have made in a long time. I must say, it's pretty good.

BLT pizza
serves 4 adults, generously or 2 with leftovers

Ingredients:
1 batch of homemade pizza dough
1 pint of cherry, grape or Juliette tomotoes (I halve them if they are really big)
1 head of garlic, roasted until soft and caramelized
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more to lightly coat the tomatoes for roasting
4-5 slices of bacon – I use uncured, nitrate-free bacon
2 cups baby arugula , long stems removed
3/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper



Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a foil-lined sheet pan, toss tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper. On the other half of the pan, place the slices of bacon. Roast for 10 minutes, until bacon starts to crisp and tomatoes are wilted. Remove from oven to cool slightly. Drain bacon on paper towel and when cool enough to handle, chop bacon into 1-inch pieces.


In a small bowl, mash roasted garlic with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Set aside.


On a flour-dusted board, roll or press out dough to a rough 14 x 17 inch rectangle. Transfer to an aluminum sheet pan. Spread roasted garlic mixture on the dough. Layer with cheese, then tomatoes and bacon. Cook on bottom rack of oven until golden and bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with arugula. Let wilt for 2-3 minutes. Cut and serve.

this week's menu

Saturday was a good day. We had lots of visitors: my sister and her family came for a Café Soleil-supplied breakfast – the pastries were a big hit with the kiddies and adults; Chris's mom and dad both popped in for visits and Chris and I had a very grown-up date night at L'Etoile. The meal was pretty mind blowing. Can't wait to tell you all about it, but it deserves a post of its own, so you'll just have to wait!

The market is hitting its peak-season stride and is literally spilling over with freshness. It is almost too overwhelming to make a decision on what to buy! We hit the Dane County Farmers' Market at o-dark 30 on Saturday morning and we still hit a major crowd – clearly people have the same idea as us: hit the market early for the good stuff. Here's the “good stuff” we picked up and a weekly menu to match:

At the Market
Apricots
Basil
Beets
Blueberries
Broccoli-kale hybrid – very interesting stuff; can't wait to use it!
Cilantro
Dandelion greens
Eggplant
Lettuce
Onions
Red bell pepper
Scallions
Sweet corn
Tomatoes: heirlooms and Juliette
Zucchini

Menu: week of 23 August 2009
Sunday: BLT pizza with roasted Juliette tomatoes, bacon, arugula and roasted garlic – we will be having this every weekend during tomato season, per Chris's request :)
Monday: Sautéed dandelion greens bruschetta with fresh ricotta and oven-baked fresh figs wrapped in bacon
Tuesday: BLTs with green beans vinaigrette
Wednesday: Ina Garten’s roasted vegetable orzo from Barefoot Contessa Parties
Thursday: Sautéed broccoli-kale with spicy sesame whole-wheat noodles topped with a fried egg
Friday: Pasta with corn and zucchini sautéed in brown butter with parmigiano reggiano
Saturday: TBD

recipe: market tomato and goat cheese tart

One of Pickle's favorite things to eat at Café Soleil is their herbed chevre croissant. While I wish I could craft these gorgeous, cheesy, roasted tomato-stuffed delights at home, I am not a pastry chef, but I am a mom who loves to recreate beloved foodstuff while simplifying the process. I've replaced handcrafted croissant dough with frozen puff pastry and swapped the oven-dried tomatoes with sauteed ones. It is a spot-on rendition in taste, but not shape.

Market Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart

Ingredients:
1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted in the fridge
1 large, in-season tomato or 3 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced or grated on a microplane
1 tablesppon thyme leaves
1 tablespoon olive or grapeseed oil
kosher salt and fresh black pepper to taste
4 oz fresh goat cheese, at room temperature – I use the fabulously creamy DreamFarm chevre
4 oz, grated nutty, aged cheese, like Pleasant Ridge Reserve or Marieke Gouda
1 egg, whisked with 1 teaspoon water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat oil over medium heat until shimmery. Add tomatoes and saute until juices start to run.
Add garlic and thyme and cook another minute.

Remove from heat to cool.

On a flour-dusted counter or board, roll out puff pastry until its roughly 14 inches by 11 inches. Chill for 15 minutes it if gets too soft. Cut pastry in half. Score a 1/2 border on one piece of pastry. In the inside rectangle, spread goat cheese over entire surface. Place back in the refrigerators until the tomatoes are ready.

Spread tomatoes over the goat cheese and then sprinkle with the grated cheese. Egg wash the border left on the puff pastry and then top it with the other piece. Press and seal edges together, then use a pastry wheel to cut the egdes so they look uniform. if you don't have a pastry wheel, a knife will work too. Cut three small slits on the top to allow steam to escape. Egg wash the entire tart and place in the preheated oven for 18 minutes, or until golden brown and puffed.

Cut into individual portions.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

this week's menu

Oh, summer, how I love thee! let me count the ways: tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes!

On Saturday, we had a CSA delivery and we hit the Dane County Farmers’ Market, too. There’s just so much in season right now that we want to enjoy it fully since our growing season is so short!

Tomatoes and corn carry the menu this week. I’ve got some great recipes that will be posted soon, including:
Market tomato and goat cheese tart – a Pickle-tested, Pickle-approved recipe
Eggplant, tomato and fresh mozzarella napoleons
BLT pizza

In our CSA Box/At the Market:
Arugula
Blueberries
Carrots
Cucumbers
Cilantro
Edamame
Eggplant
Garlic
Jalapeños
Sweet peppers
Green leaf lettuce
Purple green beans
Red onions
Sungold Tomatoes
Sweet Corn
Tomatillos
Tomatoes – heirloom and slicers
Zucchini

Menu: week of 16 August 2009
Sunday: BLT Pizza – roasted Sungold tomatoes, bacon, arugula and roasted garlic
Monday: Sautéed zucchini and Monterey jack enchiladas with roasted salsa verde and an avocado salad
Tuesday: Mahi Mahi kebabs with lemon-scented, herbed Greek yogurt, naan and roasted sweet corn
Wednesday: out to dinner
Thursday: Fish tacos with shredded Napa cabbage and avocado crema
Friday: BLTs with green beans vinaigrette
Saturday: Date night

this week's menu ... and a recipe

We were out of town on Saturday, so no market trip this week. We still had some veggies leftover from our CSA delivery, so I was able to scrape together a menu for the week. I’ve also included a recipe that has been a favorite of ours for a while – originally a recipe from Marc Bittman’s Minimalist column in the NY Times, but has slowly morphed into something vaguely reminiscent. It’s a quick and satisfying dish ... Pickle scarfed it down in record time, including some from his dad’s plate.

Menu: week of 9 August 2009
Sunday: Eggs poached in tomatoes served crusty bread
Monday: Sautéed greens and potato tacos with green chile salsa and goat cheese
Tuesday: Zucchini, sweet corn and bacon pasta with caramelized cippolini onions … mmm, bacon and corn.
Wednesday: Chris is cooking … hopefully BLTs with the first tomatoes of the season with green beans vinaigrette
Thursday: Grilled sausage and peppers … on a bun or tossed with pasta – TBD
Friday: BLT pizza with tomatoes, bacon and arugula with a roasted garlic aioli – can't get enough BLTs!

Rhys’s dinners:
Sunday: Eggs poached in tomatoes served crusty bread
Monday: Sautéed greens and potatoes with shredded cheese and six-grain toast.
Tuesday: Ricotta frittata with zucchini, corn and bacon with six-grain toast
Wednesday: Leftover frittata
Thursday: Four-cheese ravioli with a winter squash sauce (recipe coming soon!)
Friday: Leftover ravioli with sautéed peppers


Eggs poached in tomatoes
Serves two adults; one hungry bambino

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ a large red onion, diced
2 sprigs of rosemary
2-3 chile de arbol, broken into pieces
1-2 garlic cloves, grated on a microplane
1, 28-oz. can organic San Marzano tomatoes; blitzed in food processor until chunky
6 extra-large eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
Crusty bread, warmed in oven

Directions:
Over medium heat, warm oil in large sauté pan with lid until shimmering; add chiles, rosemary and garlic. Sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add onions and a large pinch of salt and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring; reduce heat to medium low and cover. Cook 10 minutes, until onions are soft and translucent. Increase heat to medium and add tomatoes a generous pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Cook until sauce is bubbling. Crack eggs over sauce and season with salt and pepper; cover pan. Cook until whites are set and yolks are still slightly runny, about 5 minutes. Serve in a bowl with bread for scooping up the sauce.

Bon Voyage!

The Hungry Bambino is on a much-needed vacation this week. I'll be back next week with more menu ideas and recipes to feed your hungry brood. Until then ... cheers!