Preparing for a Busy Month

Sense of Home

April promises to be a busier than usual month both at work with extra meetings and employees on vacation, and away from work with personal commitments.  You may even notice my posts being shorter or more days without a post, I will be back to writing and cooking homemade, and even starting my garden in May, and (I can't wait) foraging for asparagus.  I will just be a little quieter in April, at least that is how I see it playing out.

My husband likes to snack on jerky, both beef and venison, when he is hungry and dinner is still an hour or two off, so he decided to make jerky to have a substantial snack available for some of our overly full days. We have made venison jerky before, but never beef.  It is essentially made the same way, though even the mostly grass fed, very lean beef we get from my father-in-law is a little greasier than venison.  After dehydrating the beef and spice mixture (purchased) for approximately 4 hours at 160 degrees, my husband wiped any extra grease off the sticks with a paper towel, cooled them on racks and then placed them in the freezer, ready to grab for an on-the-go snack.

Lemon-Thyme Parsnip Mashed Potatoes

Sense of Home

The parsnips add a sweetness to the mashed potatoes and the lemon thyme adds a fresh flavor.  This side serves well with chicken, beef or pork.

Lemon-Thyme Parsnip Mashed Potatoes
~adapted from a May 2009 Bon Appetit recipe~

3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pound large parsnips, peeled and cut sliced into 3/4-inch slices
1 cup whole milk
6 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon dried lemon thyme leaves

Boil potatoes and parsnips in a large pot of salted water until tender, about 15 minutes.  While that is cooking bring milk, butter, and thyme to a simmer in a small saucepan, turn off heat.  When potatoes and parsnips are tender, drain water and return them to the pot.  Add milk mixture and mash well.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.


Sense of Home / Recipes / Side Dishes

Grilled Steak with Balsamic-Caper Vinaigrette

Sense of Home

Even if the weather is not warm enough for outdoor grilling, once in a while we are in the mood for some grilled food, this time it was steak.  We have some sirloin that, being pasture fed in the summer and hay with some supplemental grain in the winter, tends to be very lean and thus not as juicy.  I thought serving it with a sauce might help cut any dryness and I watched the steaks very close, cooking slower and being sure not to let them over cook and become tough.  They turned out tender and juicy and with this balsamic vinaigrette, very tasty.  Served with some homegrown, cut off the cob corn and the last of our homegrown potatoes in a lemon-thyme parsnip and mashed potato side (recipe tomorrow), this was a hearty and delicious meal.

This spice rub will be good on steaks this summer even without the vinaigrette on the side, it is a bit spicy and adds a lot of flavor to the steak juices.  I miss grilling outside, one of the pleasures of summer.  A hot summer day, too hot to be heating up the kitchen, the smell of corn and steak grilling, or maybe some potatoes, onions and herbs wrapped in foil and a whole chicken with a tin can partially filled with beer, inserted and holding it erect or maybe salmon dotted with butter, sprinkled with fresh lemon juice and a few thin sliced lemons right on top, wrapped in foil with asparagus placed right on the grill beside it, these are the meals I am looking forward to this summer.  You know how when you take a walk around the neighborhood and smell the food someone else is grilling and it smells oh so good, that is how I hope it smells when neighbors walk past our house.

Grilled Steak with Balsamic-Caper Vinaigrette
~adapted from a May 2009 Bon Appetit recipe~
4 servings

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup minced onion (about 1/2 an onion)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for steaks and the grill
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons drained capers
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
4 3/4-inch-thick rib-eye or sirloin steaks
3 garlic cloves, pressed
4 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons course kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Vinaigrette
Simmer vinegar in a small pan over medium heat until it is reduced to about 1/4 cup, about 5 minutes.  Add onions, 1/4 cup olive oil, and crushed red pepper; return to a simmer.  Remove from heat; whisk in parsley, capers and thyme.

Steak
Rub both sides of the steaks with olive oil and garlic.  Mix paprika, 2 teaspoons coarse salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper in a small bowl.  Sprinkle on both sides of the steaks.  Let steak rest for 15 minutes.

Set grill on medium-high heat, brush with olive oil.  Grill steaks until cooked to desired doneness, turning once. Transfer to plate and serve vinaigrette on the side or over the top of the steaks.


Sense of Home / Recipes / Main Dishes

Sunday Stills

French Toast with Maple-Glazed Pecans

Sense of Home

Back in the early 1980s I was in downtown Minneapolis, where there is an abundance of fine restaurants, having breakfast.  I had ordered the French toast expecting the usual egg toasted bread with maple syrup and what I received remains fixed in my memory.  Not only was there the usual toast and syrup, they served that French toast with a dollop of sour cream and the finest apple butter, topped with walnuts.  It was simply the best French toast I have ever had.  I have topped mine with some maple-glazed pecans, homemade applesauce, sour cream and a little maple syrup.  Afterward you may need to go on a no sugar diet for a while though, I'm warning you this is sweet like dessert.

For French Toast
Slices of brioche, dipped briefly in eggs whisked with a little milk, placed on griddle, flipped, and placed in a warm oven.

For Maple-Glazed Pecans
Place a tablespoon of butter in a non-stick pan and a large handful of pecans, toast over medium heat for a couple minutes.  Then put a spoonful or two of real maple syrup in the hot pan and stir pecans and syrup for a minute while the syrup caramelizes.  Careful not to burn.


To Serve
Top with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche, a spoonful or two of homemade apple butter, sprinkle with a few maple-glazed pecans, and drizzle with real maple syrup.

Sense of Home / Recipes / Breakfast

Gourgeres

Sense of Home

Pronounced goo-jair, these beautiful, airy French cheese puffs are a good addition to a meal or an appetizer served with wine.  The dough is a pate a choux, think cream puffs or profiteroles, but for gourgeres you add cheese, such as Gruyere.  Years ago a friend used to bring profiteroles to all our gatherings, she would stuff them with whipped creme and they were delicious.  I was so impressed and I would ask her how she made them, she always said there was nothing to it, they were simple, I never believed her.  After trying these, I can say, there is nothing to it, they are simple.  Though I think taking the time to carefully open and fill with whipped creme is another matter, a lesson in patience perhaps, I would likely fail.

The next morning they are delicious with a spoonful of homemade apple butter.  The wonderful part of making these gourgeres, besides eating them, is that you can freeze the shaped dough, store it in a freezer bag and then pop them in the oven straight from the freezer.  I froze half the batch and now I am ready for a meal or gathering another time.  I will not be sharing the recipe I used here because I took the recipe from the book "Around My French Table" by Dorie Greenspan and I did not adapt it at all.  The cookbook came out just last year and it is brimming with beautiful full-page photos and wonderful recipes.  

See how beautiful the full page photos are?  Yes, I know my cat is on my table, he has to be in the middle of the action.  I have just about given up the battle, I know he is laying up there looking out the window when we are gone, now I just clean the table before eating.

Ricotta Fruit Pie

Sense of Home

Homemade whole-milk ricotta is actually a cheese, not a true ricotta.  Ricotta is produced from the whey left over when making cheese.  You know the nursery rhyme; "little miss muffet sat on her tuffet eating her curds and whey". Little miss muffet was eating cheese curds and the protein rich by-product whey.  Ricotta is produced by allowing whey to become more acidic and then heating it to near boiling, causing the remaining proteins in the whey to separate and form a fine curd.  For this recipe, and for so many more that call for ricotta, homemade whole-milk ricotta is an excellent creamy, rich choice.  If you have never made this cheese at home it is the simplest of cheeses to make and the results are well worth the short amount of time it takes.

Whole milk ricotta is simply made by pouring a half-gallon of organic whole milk into a cooking pot with 1/4  cup lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar) and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Heat the milk to 185 degrees F.  Turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes.  Then line a colander with muslin, carefully ladle the curds and whey into the muslin bag, or cloth and let it drain for 30 minutes.  You can let it drain longer if you want a crumbly cheese for topping salads, but for this recipe you want a creamy ricotta cheese so 30 minutes will do.  This recipe makes just under 2 cups of ricotta so that is about right for this pie.  Be sure to save the whey (shown in the quart jar above), this is full of protein and can be added to smoothies or any recipe that calls for water, such as when making bread.  It will keep in the refrigerator about as long as milk will, I keep mine in the freezer if I don't plan to use it that week.  

Home canned fruits are such a pleasure to look at in the jar.  I have found that often, even if the peaches or cherries are not as sweet as I would like for eating fresh, they always taste good canned in a light syrup, and are excellent mixed in with a little plain yogurt.  For this pie recipe I chose to use cherries and peaches since I have several jars left in the pantry.

This was one of the most frustrating crusts to work with, I actually added several teaspoons more water just to get the dough to form a ball and roll out halfway decent.  In the end though this is a very good tasting crust, almost cookie like, so I am keeping it with the recipe, I will just add a note to add more water.  Perhaps the amount of water was a misprint in the original recipe or perhaps the pastry chef is just so much better at making pastries that he/she doesn't need much liquid added.

Ricotta Fruit Pie
~adapted from an April 2009 Gourmet magazine recipe ~
Serves 8

For Dough
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoon cold water, plus more added (by teaspoons) as needed
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Scant 1/8 teaspoon salt

For Filling
3/4 cup cherries, cut in half (drained well if canned, or frozen)
3/4 cup peaches, cut into bite-size pieces (drained well if canned or frozen)
1 1/3 cups whole milk ricotta (11 ounces)
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided
2 large eggs (1 whole, 1 separated)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons instant polenta or yellow cornmeal (not stone-ground)
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

For the Dough
Beat butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy.  Mix in egg yolk and water.  With the mixer on low speed add flour and salt until a soft dough forms, carefully adding additional water as needed until it is just moist enough to form a loose ball.  Divide dough into 2 balls and set aside.  Chill dough while mixing filling.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. with rack in the middle of the oven.

For the Filling
Drain the fruit well if needed.  Beat ricotta with an electric mixer until fluffy, then gradually add 1/2 cup sugar.  Beat in 1 whole egg plus one yolk (reserving the white for brushing the top of the pie crust), then add vanilla.  Beat in polenta, zest, and a pinch of salt, then beat in butter.  Fold in the fruit.

Pie Crust
Let dough soften slightly, place on a lightly floured surface.  Roll out one ball of dough into a 12-inch round that will fit into a 9-inch pie pan.  Roll the dough back onto the rolling pin and roll out into the pie pan.

Roll out the second ball of dough as the first.  Working quickly, or cover and chill the dough again before adding filling.

Pie
Pour the ricotta fruit mixture onto the crust in the pie pan.  Place top crust on pie, pressing edges together around the pie.  Make three long slits in the top crust, then brush top crust with egg white, and bake at 350 degrees F. until golden brown, about 55 to 60 minutes. Cool Completely.

Sense of Home / Recipes / Desserts

This post is listed on:
Hearth and Soul Hop
Delectable Tuesday
Tuesday Night Supper Club
Real Food Wednesday
Totally Tasty Tuesdays
Simple Lives Thursday
Full Plate Thursday
Fight Back Friday

Boeuf Bourguignon

Sense of Home

I have been having fun this winter trying all kinds of recipes I have never made before and rediscovering old ones. Winter is the time to experiment and learn in the kitchen, from late spring through summer I will be in my garden and meals will be lighter and quicker, sometimes just a salad made from what is growing in the garden.  Late summer and well into the fall I will be preserving as much produce as I can from our garden and other local sources.  I will be writing more about the garden and canning, dehydrating, and freezing during that season, but this is the season of trying various recipes from my cookbooks and magazines, and I am having a ball.

One of the dishes I have always wanted to make, but for some reason was intimidated by, is the French classic Boeuf Bourguignon.  Boeuf Bourguignon is essentially a beef stew, but to call it that just does not properly describe this amazing beef and gravy.  It is so rich with flavor, the meat so tender, and the onions and mushrooms complement the flavor so well that you must use it's proper name.  I started with the recipe in Julia Child's and Jacques Pepin's "Cooking at Home" cookbook, which of course needs no improving on, but I needed to adapt the recipe to the ingredients I had available and could get in my local market.  The beef chunks were seared in bacon grease, giving the beef an extra layer of flavor.  Then all the wonderful browned bits are loosened and scrapped up when the pan is deglazed with a cup of wine and added to the stew pot with the beef and vegetables.  

More flavor is added as the beef is slowly simmered with an onion, carrots, fresh thyme, bay leaves, parsley stems, tomato, a head of garlic, beef stock, and an entire bottle of full-bodied red wine.  I have always questioned whether I would really like the resulting sauce since I thought it would have a strong wine flavor, but I was so wrong.  I could not taste any wine, just an incredibly rich gravy flavor.  My husband declared this very good and he was surprised there was a whole bottle of wine in there, but don't think you can skip this ingredient, reduce the amount used, or substitute a cheap cooking wine, the wine is a large part of the rich flavor.  The wine should be a good wine that you would want to drink, otherwise why are you adding it to your food?

I had to make a slight change here too.  I did not have small white onions available at the stores in my area. However, I did have plenty of onions on hand, so I sauted the thickly sliced onions until they started to caramelize, then added the stock and mushrooms and cooked it all together until they began to brown.  They are the perfect complement  to this rich dish.  Boeuf Bourguignon can be served with noodles or mashed potatoes.  We have a few garden potatoes in cold storage yet so we had mashed potatoes, an excellent meal.   

Boeuf Bourguignon
~adapted from Cooking at Home by Julia Child and Jacques Pepin~
Serves 6

2 tablespoons bacon grease, more if needed
Approximately 3 pounds good quality stew meat
Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 cups roughly chopped onion
1 1/2 cups peeled and roughly chopped carrot
6 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
3 bay leaves
A handful of parsley stems (about 10)
1 head garlic, cloves separated and crushed but not peeled
1 large tomato, cored and chopped, or 3/4 cup canned tomatoes, drained
1 bottle full-bodied red wine, preferably a pinot noir
1 to 2 cups rich beef stock

For the Onion and Mushroom Garnish
2 medium-sized onions, thickly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Pinch salt
1/2 cup or more rich beef stock
10 ounces fresh Baby Bella mushrooms

For finishing the sauce
2 tablespoon soft butter, or more as needed
2 tablespoons flour, or more
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup or more red wine (same as you are serving at the table)


Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Dry the beef chunks on paper towels and sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon or more of freshly ground pepper all over them.  Place a tablespoon or more of bacon grease into a frying pan.  Heat until the fat is very hot, but not smoking, and set in a batch of beef chunks in a single layer, with a little space between them (if they are overcrowded they will steam rather than sear).  Brown the pieces, turning them with tongs.  Remove from the frying pan as soon as they are browned on all sides and place them in a large oven-safe stew pot, add more beef chunks and continue browning in installments, adding more bacon grease as needed.  When beef is all browned, drain and discard any excess grease from the pan.  Pour a cup or so of the wine into the pan and bring to a simmer.  Deglaze the browned bits in the pan bottom, scraping them up with a wooden spoon, then pour the liquid over the beef in the stew pot.

Place the chopped onion, carrot, thyme, bay leaves, parsley, tomato and garlic cloves in the stew pot with the beef. Pour the remaining wine and enough beef stock just to cover the meat chunks.

Bring the liquid to a simmer on the top of the stove, cover and set into the preheated oven (may also be simmered slowly on the stove-top, covered and stirring occasionally).  Cook for about 2 hours, keep the stew at a barely active simmer, until the beef is fork-tender but not falling apart.  Test the meat at 15 minute intervals after the first 1 1/2 hours of stewing, don't overcook.

When meat is done, place stew pot on the stove-top.  Place a fine strainer over a large bowl and spoon juices, beef, and vegetables through the strainer, picking out the beef chunks with a tongs and placing them in the bowl with the juices.  After all the vegetables and herbs have been strained out, discard, then place the juices and beef back in the large stew pot.

Preparing the onion and mushroom garnish
Lightly caramelize the onions with the butter, sugar, and salt in the same frying pan as the beef was browned in. Add beef stock and whole mushrooms and cook them together over moderate-heat as the mushrooms begin to brown and the stock reduces.  Set the onions and mushrooms aside and deglaze the pan with a few spoonfuls of wine or stock and pour that into the stew pot.


Finishing the sauce
Return the stew to a gentle simmer for approximately 10 minutes, turn off heat.  With a whisk, blend 2 tablespoons of flour and 2 tablespoons of soft or melted butter in a small bowl to make a thick paste, or beurre manie.  Gradually whisk a half-cup or so of the stew broth into the paste until there are no lumps.  Blend this into the stew and bring to a simmer again.  Cook for a couple of minutes and check the consistency of the sauce.  If you want it thicker mix up more beurre manie, and add.  Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper if needed.

Serve beef and sauce in individual pasta bowls topped with the onion and mushroom garnish, with mashed potatoes or noodles on the side.


Sense of Home / Recipes / Main Dishes

Sunday Stills

Sense of Home

Trail Bars

Sense of Home

When I was growing up my family would go camping every summer with a couple of other families.  After a campfire breakfast of bacon, eggs, and pancakes us kids would spend nearly all day hiking through the woods.  We were called back to the campsite with a series of honks of a car horn and we would arrive at camp ready to eat a camp dinner we played no part in preparing.  We never gave any of our camping meals a thought, it was always there ready to eat and then we would be off into the woods again until it was time to sit around the evening campfire.  Our mothers prepared the food and cleaned up afterward and we loved camping, all that time to explore the woods.  We even loved camping in the rain, in fact, to this day, when it rains, the fresh rain smell always reminds me of camping and makes me a little wistful for those days.    

These bars would be good for the hiking trail, full of whole grains, peanut butter and honey for energy and filling enough to hold you over until the next campfire meal.  I mixed these up a week ago during our last (hope) blizzard of the season, there was sadly no hiking, woods, or campfire involved.  I may not go camping like I used to, but still enjoy a good hike and hope to do plenty of that this summer, with a few of these trail bars along for energy.

I used natural peanut butter in this bar, which doesn't hold them together quite as well as Skippy or Jif would, some of the bars crumbed, but I still wanted the natural peanut butter, even if it meant the bars were not holding their shape as well.  It helps, too, if the peanut butter is not dry, as natural peanut butter often is when you get down to the last of it.  So start with a fresh or recently opened jar of peanut butter so that the bars have moisture for the grains to absorb. 

                          

Trail Bars
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
2 cups regular oats
1 cup whole grain puffed rice cereal
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup roasted peanuts or sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter an 8 x 8 pan.

Combine oats, rice cereal, coconut and peanuts or sunflower seeds in a medium-sized bowl.  Combine butter, honey, vanilla, salt and peanut butter in a saucepan and heat, stirring to blend.  Pour honey mixture over the dry ingredients, mixing until thoroughly coated.  Pack into a prepared 8 x 8 pan and bake for 15 - 20 minutes.  Cool and cut.

Sense of Home / Recipes / Cookies and Bars

Plan to Can

Sense of Home

Time to start thinking ahead to canning season.  What were last season's successes, failures, what should I can more of, or less.  This is a good time of year (at least for those of us in the northern reaches) to think about canning because you can see what is left on the shelves and know how many months it will be before there will be fresh fruits and vegetables ripening in the garden.  The above photo shows all, except for a few jars of plum juice (in the photo below), we have left from last year's canning season and a couple jars of pickles from the year before (best use those up in the next couple months).  I think we got the number of whole tomatoes and tomato sauce just right, we should have enough to take us to tomato season.  We have enough pickled jalapeños to take us into 2012, no need to can more this summer.  Apple sauce is about right as well, but I will run out of apple juice by mid-April and there are several months before there will be ripe apples on the trees.  We have too much jelly again, it is so much fun to try different jelly recipes, but the truth is we just don't eat that much jelly.  I should find ways to use it in recipes, such as jelly filled cookies or pastries, then share them at work so we don't eat them all.  I need to make more tomato salsa, I just opened the last jar this week, but we still have a few jars of peach salsa.  I have two jars of tomato soup and three jars of canned chicken soup left, that is about right, spring is nearly here, but the chicken stock was gone long ago.  Next fall I need to get more chickens, for making stock, we go through a lot of it.  I have been making small batches of stock as I need it, freezing a few jars, but it is so handy to have stock canned and ready to use at a moments notice.  The peaches, apricots, and cherries are holding up, but we are down to our last couple of containers of frozen berries so we will start to eat more of the canned fruit soon.

I also like to search out some new recipes to try before we hit the ultra-busy gardening and preserving season.  This year I plan to try my hand at pickled cauliflower, spiced crabapples, blackberries in Framboise, raspberry vinegar and tarragon wine vinegar to be used in making dressings, red onions in vinegar, and then there is that recipe for gingered zucchini marmalade (I will have to start giving away jellies).  I plan to can some items in smaller batches, this will make it more manageable for someone working full-time and we really don't need a lot of some foods since the children have grown and have homes and gardens of their own.

What do you plan to can this year?


Sense of Home / Homemade Living / Kitchen and Pantry


This post has been listed on:
Simple Lives Thursday
Fight Back Friday
Homestead Barn Hop

A Morning Routine

Sense of Home

Two tablespoons of organic flax freshly ground and added to homemade apple juice.  WebMD has an article on the health benefits of flax seed, and the Mayo Clinic answers the question on whether ground flaxseed has more health benefits than whole flaxseed.

Blue Hake with Hazelnuts and Capers

Sense of Home

I am very tired of winter.  As I write this there is a blizzard roaring outside (wind gusts peaked at 58 mph and falling snow was going sideways), likely the last of the season, the sound of the wind puts me on edge.  I am trusting that in a couple days when this post is published it will be spring-like, that is what I am telling myself anyway.  I decided enough with the winter foods, I am making a lighter, warmer weather dish.  So fish with the fresh taste of capers and parsley was on the menu. 

This recipe is different from any other fish recipe I have tried in that there are hazelnuts in the sauce that is served over the fish.  The fish is not breaded with crushed nuts as I have had before, but dressed with the crunch of hazelnuts and the tang of capers.

Blue Hake is a mild flavored, meaty fish that holds up well to a stronger sauce.  I usually prepare this type of fish baked in the oven, that way there are fewer calories since it does not need so much butter or oil as when the fish is sauteed.  I followed the recipe and sauteed the hake this time, however, I think it would work just fine baked in the oven and the sauce added just before serving.

Blue Hake with Hazelnuts and Capers

~adapted slightly from a Gourmet 2009 recipe~

Serves 4

1/2 cup hazelnuts

4 (6-ounce) pieces blue hake fillet

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons drained capers

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Finely chop hazelnuts in a food processor or by another means.  

Pat fish dry and season with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat.  Saute fish, turning once, until golden and just cooked through, about 8 minutes.  Transfer to a platter.

Melt butter in skillet, then saute hazelnuts with garlic until nuts are golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes.  Add vinegar and water, scraping up any brown bits, then remove from heat and stir in capers and parsley.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, spoon over fish and serve.

Sense of Home / Recipes / Main Dishes


Listed with:
Slightly Indulgent Tuesday
Delectable Tuesday
Tasty Tuesdays

Broccoli and Bacon Risotto

Sense of Home

My husband is not a big fan of rice.  He says it is flavorless.  I admit to cooking plain brown rice for a dinner side dish a time or two, I like it.  When I made this risotto, I challenged him to tell me this was flavorless.  This risotto is anything but flavorless; cooked in chicken broth and white wine, with Romano, broccoli and bacon added, it is loaded with flavor.  This big flavor also comes with generous amounts of fat and calories.  I have decided to not sacrifice flavor, but to eat smaller portions, rounding out the meal with lots of raw or steamed vegetables and exercise to control weight and cholesterol as I get older, hopefully this plan works.

Risotto requires attention, with time spent stirring and liquid to be added as the rice continues to absorb.  I didn't mind though, I just put some Bob Schneider on the stereo, poured myself a glass of Pinot Grigio and slowed the day down.  I have a rule, no alcohol during the week and, at the most, only one or two glasses on the weekend; alcohol is full of calories.  You see or read about me drinking a glass of wine or a bottle of beer often in my posts, that is because I do most of my cooking on the weekend and we eat the leftovers during the week with salads or steamed vegetables.

This is what cooking is all about.  Having fun with the ingredients while providing simple, nourishing, delicious food.  I used Romano cheese in this recipe, Parmigiano Reggiano gets all the attention and glory, but I think Romano has very good flavor, if slightly milder.

Broccoli and Bacon Risotto
~inspired by a January 2009 Gourmet recipe~
Serves 4 to 6

6 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup water (reserved from steaming the broccoli)
4 slices bacon
4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/3 cup Arborio rice
1 1/2 cup broccoli, steamed and chopped
3/4 cup shredded Romano cheese
1/4 cup unsalted butter

Steam broccoli until bright green and tender.  Reserve steaming water.  Rinse broccoli under cold water to stop cooking, set aside.

Bring stock, wine, and water to a simmer in a medium-sized saucepan.

Cook bacon in a large pot over medium-low heat, stirring, until crisp.  Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper towel to drain.  Reserve a generous tablespoon of bacon fat in the pot.

Add garlic to bacon fat in pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until pale golden, about 1 minute.  Add rice, stirring to coat.

Add 1 cup hot stock mixture and simmer briskly, stirring constantly, until stock is absorbed.  Continue simmering and adding hot stock mixture, about 1 cup at a time, stirring frequently and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until rice is just tender and creamy looking, but still al dente, 20 to 25 minutes.  (Reserve leftover stock mixture).  Add broccoli, butter and cheese, heat through.  Thin risotto with some of reserved stock mixture if needed.  Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Top with bacon and serve.

Sense of Home / Recipes / Side Dishes


This post is listed on:
Hearth and Soul Hop
Tuesday Night Supper Club
Delicious Dishes
Monday Mania

Sunday Stills

Sense of Home

In the words of R.E.M. "Oh my heart".

Roasted Cauliflower Tart

Sense of Home

Where has roasted cauliflower been all my life?!  Who know cauliflower could taste so good?!  I wanted to stop cooking after I roasted the cauliflower and just sit down and eat it.  I have steamed cauliflower, boiled it, and eaten it raw, but I have never enjoyed it so much as I did when I roasted it with salt and pepper.  It has always been a vegetable that I could take or leave, cauliflower did not excite me one way or the other, but when you drizzle truffle oil over it, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and roast it, the flavor shines.

I used my usual pie crust recipe for this tart, but this time I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of white.  This gave the crust a slightly nutty flavor and made it a bit healthier, though more difficult to work roll out and shape.  This time I used parchment paper under my "pie weights" (I learned my lesson), making it much easier to get them out after the crust is baked.

Caramelizing brings out the sweetness in the onions and perhaps roasting brings out the sweetness in the cauliflower as well, I don't know, but I know I will be making cauliflower like this again soon, and it will not be going into a tart, it will be eaten just out of the oven.

You can actually taste the Dijon mustard in this tart, even though it is just painted on the crust.

While making this tart I tried an organic beer I haven't tried before, Mothership Wit, it was ok, it is hard to get a really good organic beer, I'm not sure I like the spicy undertones.

Roasted Cauliflower Tart
~adapted from the recipe of the same name in The Earthbound Cookbook~
Makes one 9-inch tart

1 small head of cauliflower (about 1 pound), separated into 1-inch florets (about 5 cups)
2 tablespoons truffle oil or olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, cut in half through the stem end and then cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices (about 3 1/2 cups)
2 large eggs
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup shredded Fontina cheese
1/2 cup shredded sharp Provolone
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Pie Crust
Makes 2 crusts
(use just one crust for the tart, other ball of dough may be frozen and used later)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold butter
1/4 cup ice cold water 


Mix flour and salt together.  Cut butter into flour mixture using a pastry cutter until mixture is pea size crumbs.  Then add water and mix with hands just until it forms a ball, do not overwork.  Add more water by the tablespoon if dough is too dry to form a ball, however the ball should be on the dry side and not be too moist or sticky.


Divide the dough into two balls, chill in refrigerator.


Tart


Position a rake in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.


Place the cauliflower florets in a large bowl, add the truffle oil, and toss to coat.  Transfer the florets to a rimmed baking sheet, spreading them out to form a single layer, season generously with salt and black pepper.  Roast for 15 minutes.  Then flip the florets with a spatula and continue cooking until the cauliflower is tender and browned, 15 to 20 minutes.  Set the florets aside to cool.


Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F.


Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit a room temperature for 10 to 20 minutes to soften. (If the dough is too cold or firm, it will crack when you try to roll it out.)


Lightly dust the workspace, a rolling pin, and the top surface of the dough with flour.  Roll the dough into an 11-inch round, and transfer it to a 9-inch tart pan.  Line the tart shell with parchment, and fill it with pie weights or dried beans.  Bake for 20 minutes.


Remove the tart shell from the oven and lift out the paper and pie weights.  Lightly prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork, and return to the oven.  Bake the pastry until it dries slightly and begins to take on a faint color, 8 to 10 minutes.


Remove the tart shell from the oven and place on a wire rack, allow the crust to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.  Then carefully brush the bottom and sides of the pastry shell with the mustard.  Set it aside at room temperature.


Heat a large skillet, preferably cast-iron, over medium-low heat.  When it is warm, add the olive oil.  Add the onion slices and cook, stirring frequently, until they soften and caramelize, 30 to 40 minutes.  Be patient and do this slowly; the onions should be golden, not brown.


While the onions are cooking, thinly slice the roasted cauliflower florets and set them aside.


Transfer the caramelized onions to the prebaked tart shell and spread them out in a thin layer.  Top with the sliced roasted cauliflower.  Transfer the tart pan to a rimmed baking sheet.


Combine the eggs, cream cheese, cream, white pepper, and nutmeg in a medium-size bowl, and whisk to combine.  Stir in the Fontina and Provolone cheese.  Pour the mixture over the cauliflower and onions in the tart shell, and sprinkle the Parmesan over the top.  Bake until the tart is puffed, set in the center, and golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes.


Transfer the tart to a wire rack and let it cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.


Sense of Home / Recipes / Main Dishes


This post is listed on:
Foodie Friday
Fight Back Friday
Real Food Wednesday
Fat Camp Friday
Full Plate Thursday
Friday Potluck
Simple Lives Thursday
Just Another Meatless Monday
My Meatless Mondays
Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays