from Martha Stewart

The more I entertain, the more I realize that simple is better. A multi-course spectacle doesn’t really allow anyone to unbutton and relax. Starting with a single rich nosh and some bubbly helps the evening to unfurl gracefully — without eating too much to really enjoy dinner. My go-to hors d’oeuvre is the gougeres, or cheese puff for those who don’t parlez vous francais.

Gougeres starts with the classic pate choux — a paste of flour, water, butter and eggs. This simple mixture is the start for not only gougeres, but éclairs too. Fold nutty gruyere into the batter and you have the foundation for gougeres. From there you can elevate them with some key add-ins: minced chipotle chiles, Serrano ham, sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, etc. Once they hit the hot oven, they do just as their name indicates — they puff and crisp into golden orbs that are fairly addictive — so plan for several batches before dinner for a group of 10 or so.

My go-to recipe is from Martha Stewart – I love that you can make them ahead and reheat right before the party starts.

Happy eating, -s.

I love my husband for many reasons, but one of my favorite things about him is his absolute gusto when it comes to eating the foods he loves. Many years ago, early in our relationship, Chris and I went on a weekend jaunt with my sister, Heather, and brother-in-law, Mike. We ate at a delicious Italian restaurant that served, with its homemade ciabatta, a whole head of roasted garlic. Now, Chris LOVES roasted garlic and proceeded to pretty much eat the entire head himself. And the remainder of the trip, he literally permeated garlic from his pores (so much so that we had to open the car windows when driving home). Now, that is love.

On many pizzas in our house, there is no tomato sauce. Instead, I make a garlic paste that gets smeared on the crust before the cheese and toppings are applied. Over the years, I have been frustrated by inconsistent roasting of garlic; I use the same method (lop the head off, place on heavy-duty foil, pour some olive oil on top, a sprinkle of kosher salt and a wrap it up), same temperature (350-degrees), for the same amount of time (2 hours) and for some heads of garlic, they would be over-roasted, with super caramelized, hard cloves encased in their papery shells or the total opposite — under-roasted and still super "garlicky," with none of the inherent sweetness of perfectly roasted garlic. Not sure why — maybe some were older or younger, moister or drier … I’m still trying to figure it out.

Well, through trial and error (and many ruined heads of garlic), I have a pretty fool-proof recipe. It’s a little unorthodox, but it works. Here’s how:

Take one large head of garlic and separate the cloves, while still retaining their individual paper wrappings. Pack the cloves in a small, oven-proof baking dish (a ramekin, etc.) and add 1 tablespoon of water and one tablespoon of olive oil, a sprinkle of kosher salt and wrap everything up in heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours.

The combination of the steamy water and oil softens the garlic slowly and makes peeling the cloves afterwards a dream! They come out soft, roasted and creamy. The remaining garlic infused oil-water is added to the cloves that are then mashed with a fork and seasoned with additional olive oil (to the consistency you want), salt and pepper. 

Try it, you’ll like it. And it’s easy.

Happy eating, -s.

 

 

 

Pickle eating a raw crimini mushroom!?

I don't know if all two-year-olds are like Pickle, but man, does this kid eat a lot. He will have his 'first' breakfast shortly after he wakes (right now it is flax-seed oatmeal with rhubarb-raspberry compote on top). Chris and I will then have breakfast a little later – cereal, oatmeal, wholegrain toast with almond butter and jam, you get the picture. Well, Pickle will want to sit on our laps and proceed to eat half of whatever we're eating (and I usually have to fight to eat the other half!), hence his 'second breakfast.' Then, maybe a half-hour later he's onto his 'third breakfast' where he might have a banana, or some dry cereal in a cup, or a half-slice of banana bread.

Now, you might be thinking, "Why don't you feed him that stuff all at once?" Well, honestly, I don't think he would sit through that 3- to 4-course meal in one go, being two and all. And I would be hungry too, if I did as much physical activity as he does in the morning. Seriously, the kid has boundless energy!

Anyway, I am struggling to get out of this carbo-overloaded morning, but I also don't want to be frying up eggs every morning. Here's my solution: bread pudding. Take some leftover bread, egg, milk, some sautéed veg and maybe some meat (leftover shredded pork or chicken, ham, prosciutto, etc.) and you have a one-dish meal that can be easily reheated in portion sizes all week long in the toaster or regular oven.

Master recipe for savory bread pudding
Serves 5-6 hungry bambinos

Ingredients
half of a loaf of day-old* hearty, crusty bread, cut into 1-inch pieces
½-pound of your pick of vegetables: thinly sliced mushrooms, asparagus cut into 1-inch pieces, cherry/grape tomatoes (halved), spinach, arugula, broccoli florets, peas, etc.
1 large garlic clove, minced
¾ cup finely chopped onion – about one medium onion
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil

3 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
4 teaspoons chopped fresh herbs – thyme, parsley and basil are my go-to picks

1 cup grated or crumbled cheese
½ cup pre-cooked meat, cut or shredded into bite-size pieces (optional)

Directions
In a large sauté pan, heat butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add your choice of vegetable and cook until crisp-tender (or wilted in case of greens). Do NOT overcook. Set aside to cool.

Whisk eggs, milk, salt, pepper and herbs in large bowl. Mix cheese and optional meat in medium bowl. Place half of bread in a large, rectangle ceramic or glass baking dish. Sprinkle with half of sautéed vegetable, then half of cheese mixture. Pour half of egg mixture over. Repeat with remaining bread, vegetables, cheese mixture, and egg mixture.

While your oven preheats to 375-degrees, let stand 20 minutes, pressing with a spatula to submerge bread pieces. Bake bread pudding until brown and puffed, about 45 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.

You can eat this right away or save it for breakfasts throughout the week. Once cooled to room temperature, cut into roughly 3x2-inch rectangles, wrap in waxed paper and place into large Ziploc bags. Refrigerate until ready to eat. Reheat in a 350-degree oven or toaster oven until warmed through.

Some delicious combinations to try throughout the summer:
Mushrooms, parsley, cooked and crumbled Italian sausage, parmigiano
Grape, cherry or Juliette tomato, basil, prosciutto (optional), Parmigiano or goat cheese
Zucchini/summer squash, thyme, aged Gouda
Peas, thyme, bacon, goat cheese
Broccoli, thyme, roasted chicken and gruyere
sweet bell peppers, basil, dry salami, pecorino romano
Eggplant, thyme and feta

*if your bread is not stale, place the cubed bread on a large baking sheet and let stand uncovered overnight to dry out.

Happy eating, -s.

my boys with banana stickers on their noses

In response to my 2010 goals posting, my friend Katie of Art Wall Online shared with me her food-related goal for the year:

I have one food goal, which is to plan and prepare a nice dinner from a recipe once per week with enough for leftovers. Ryan has the same goal so we should be set 4/7 days. Baby steps.

With the busy lives we all lead, it's tough to get a home-cooked meal on the table — at a reasonable hour — without wanting to pull your hair out or have a lie-down. As I wrote before, prepping on the weekend is the way to go. Casseroles and roasts scream “leftovers,” and are great things to tackle over the weekend.

I am so enamoured with Katie's idea of making one dinner that has enough leftovers for the next night — be it in its original form or morphed into another dish — that I am going to try my hand at it and share my results with you.

Here's what I am going to make:

Dinner One (Sunday): French chicken in a pot, served with crème fraîche mashed potatoes and mixed greens vinaigrette
On sunday, I'll make the sauce for the enchiladas and post-dinner, I'll shred the leftover meat, too.

Dinner Two (Monday): Layered chicken enchiladas with arroz verde

Preheat the oven, assemble the casserole and pop it in the oven; then start on the rice. Both should be done within a few minutes of each other.

Dinner Three (Wednesday): Roasted winter squash and mushroom tacos (my own recipe) with goat cheese and scallions, served with mixed greens

On your "day off," (a.k.a. carry-out night) roast the squash and mushrooms, so they're ready to go for the next day.

Dinner Four (Thursday): Joy of Cooking's winter squash soup with warm, crusty bread
Use the reserved roasted squash to make this quick, velvety and warming soup. Great topped with pepitas.

Happy eating, -s.

Brrr. Jack Frost and his gang of ne’er-do-wells gave Madison quite the sugar-coating of snow, ice and frigid temps this past week. Pickle has been in high heaven "helping" Chris shovel the snow. He would be outside all day if we let him, but it's been too cold to stay out for more than a few minutes.

I've been baking a lot — which is not the norm in our house (I'm a cook, not a baker) — but the holidays scream for homemade treats, don't you think? All this baking has left very little time for cooking, so our menus have been taking a more simplistic slant the last couple of weeks and probably will continue to do so until Christmas is over.

I thought I would share with you some quick tips and tricks to have on hand during the holidays that will help you avoid running to the grocery store every day! These will provide instant platforms on which to build hors d'oeuvres, desserts, potluck fare, etc.

In the freezer:

Puff pastry – this is my go-to staple for many things and there is nothing better to have on hand to elevate a dish than buttery, crisp puff pastry. I use Pepperidge farm or Trader Joe’s most of the time. You've seen my tarts, which would be great cut into strips for a passed hors d'oeuvre. For dessert, make some pastry cream and spread that on a sheet of puff pastry (leave a 1/2-inch border), bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees until golden and when cool, top with raspberries and dust with powder sugar for a perfect, easy and festive dessert.

Filo cups – These gorgeous little cups need just a brushing of butter and a filling of grated cheese (Pleasant Ridge Reserve, gruyere, sharp white cheddar), some caramelized onions and either some chopped prosciutto or cooked, crumbled bacon to make the most divine little mouthful. Just bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and golden brown. Serve hot.

In the fridge:

Cream cheese – set out at room temperature and slather with one of the following: chutney, salty, toasted pecans and apricot preserves, jalapeño jam, or gorgeous lump crab and cocktail sauce (a retro classic). Serve with crackers, crudités and/or crunchy crostini.

Smoked salmon (lox-style)– topped with lemon-zest scented crème fraîche and placed on a pumpernickel crostini; add it to a simple frittata for a perfect addition to a buffet; or showcase it on a tray with cornichon, capers, wafer-thin slices of red onion and cream cheese. Serve it with homemade or store-bought bagel chips and water crackers – perfect for brunch or a cocktail party (screams for Champagne!)

Champagne or Prosecco – nothing says “party” like a bottle of bubbly. Have a few bottles on hand for hostess gifts or to crack open when the tree is decorated, the presents are wrapped or the guests have gone home!

Menu: week of 13 December 2009:

Sunday: whole-wheat panko-crusted chicken cutlets with a fennel, apple & walnut salad in a sherry-maple vinaigrette

Monday: potato, rosemary and garlic pizza

Tuesday: salmon cakes with mixed greens vinaigrette (applesauce for Pickle)

Wednesday: turkey kofte with a side of whole-wheat sesame noodles with broccoli

Thursday: stewed white beans with tomatoes and thyme served on top of bruschetta

Friday: carry out and a movie

Saturday: holiday dinner group

Happy eating, -s.