I Fagioli

Happy (Late) Day of Celebrating our Country's Independence

2009-07-05T21:50:00.006-05:00

Oh happy late day of freedom, and nothing speaks freedom quite so much as parades, protest marches, and berry saturated French toast. Becoming our Fourth of July tradition, this year I made our patriotic French toast using Italian bread. This was truly the "melting pot of the world" breakfast I had planned -- ripe and fresh from the farmers' market blueberries and raspberries sprinkled over thick slices of custardy ciabatta bread and drizzled (or doused as Shane's) in a maple crème fraîche.

Late as a brunch and hearty enough to satisfy us until my planned dinner of risotto cakes with roasted beet, walnuts and blue cheese (red, white and blue cheese, if you will), Shane and I walked to the grocery store to pick up a few necessities (cottage cheese, eggs, eight bottles of wine . . .) and happened upon the hot dog sample stand. Actually, the samples were less sample and more meal-like as we each tried half a natural, all beef hot dog, fresh off the indoor grill and into a freshly grilled bun.

"Want to skip the risotto cakes and have hot dogs instead?" I half-joked with Shane.

"Is that okay?"

You know, it was more than okay. We just added a bag of chips, buns, and hot dog mustard to the necessity list, as I found what is now my new favorite hot dog mustard -- Woeber's Mustard Relish. Hot dogs, squishy buns, mustard with built-in pickles, well, let's just say this sausage, gourmet grainy mustard, and fancy-pants beer girl was as giddy as an eleven-year-old boy at the last minute of the last hour on the last day of school.

Risotto cakes an wait until Monday.

From Soothing Scallop Chowder to Creamy Cassoulet

2009-07-02T21:21:00.009-05:00

Admittedly, I was searching IFagioli for my cassoulet recipe – which is apparently a myth as I cannot find it on my site – when I noticed, with several ounces of horror, that I have not updated my blog in over a month. Perhaps my faithful readers (I see you all number in the double digits now) think I never stepped foot into my small yet resourceful kitchen at all in the month of June. Ah, quite the contrary. Between my subscription to a local CSA and the farmers’ market, I have been experimenting with dishes from Arugula, Mushroom and Goat Cheese Pizza with Walnuts to Soothing Scallop Chowder which hit the spot on a chilly, rainy June evening after Shane and I were soaked from the afternoon rain.

Alas, pastas with greens and bread crumbs; pastas with herbs, softly cooked eggs and bread crumbs; a delicious herb and mushroom salad; countless varieties of panini with asparagus; all went un-photographed and un-documented. Even my beloved traditional jars of strawberry jam and a perfected strawberry rhubarb cobbler with cornmeal biscuit crust went unnoticed.

Back into the kitchen tonight, unexpectedly as Shane and I thought his physical therapy would run late enough to give me an evening off, I have planned the cassoulet I have obviously not posted on IFagioli, and I am looking forward to giving everyone a taste with their eyes. I have next to me my farmers’ market fresh fennel, parsley and thyme, each eagerly awaits their turn to flavor my latest Rancho Gordo bean buy, Alubia Criollo (White Runner) Beans. A little garlic, onion, some chopped carrots and a smidgen of summer savory should round out the flavors nicely. Perhaps a lamb chop or two? To finish, a garlicky bread crumb topping will turn chilly and glum July evening into a cozy entrance for our long, lazy, Independence Day weekend.

P.S. Stay tuned – I have my now annual raspberries and blueberries ready for our red, white and blue French toast; plus, I have a special red, white and blue dinner planned for late Saturday afternoon, before our walk down to Montrose Pier to view fireworks from around the city.

White Runner Bean and Lamb Cassoulet

Serves two quite nicely

Now I somewhat winged this cassoulet, but as long as the underlying flavors are present, I think a pinch of this, a dash of that will work for anyone. I did use already cooked runner beans. If cooking beans is neither your time nor your place, substitute good quality canned runner or cannellini beans. Just rinse the beans and use chicken broth in place of the bean cooking liquid (or just use the liquid in the can, no one is looking, especially not me).

2 lamb rib chops, about 3-4 ounces each
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 medium fennel bulb, sliced, a few fronds saved aside for garnish
5 garlic cloves, chopped, saving a tablespoon for the bread crumb garnish
1/4 cup dry-ish white wine
2 small tomatoes, cut into quarters or 6 baby tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 cups cooked white runner beans plush their cooking liquid (about 1/2 cups or so) or
1 15 ounce can of white runner or cannellini beans
A combination of a few or all of the following: thyme, summer savory, sage, rosemary, chopped
Parsley and saved fennel fronds, sliced (hey, at least I didn't say "chopped.")
About 1/4 cup coarse bread crumbs
Salt and pepper

In a medium stock pot, brown the chops on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from pot and let cool until easy to handle. Remove the meat from the rib bone, and set both aside for the moment. *Keep in mind the lamb will still be very, very rare in the middle -- proceed with raw meat percaution.

In the oil, sauté onion, carrots and fennel until softened. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the wine and scrape up any pieces left from the lamb. Let mixture come to a boil and then simmer for a few minutes before adding to the pot the tomatoes, beans with the 1 1/2 cups of liquid, rib bones, and thyme, summer savory, sage and/or rosemary. Let mixture come to a boil, lower heat, and simmer until thickened and the tomatoes start breaking down, about 30 minutes. If too much liquid is evaporating, turn down the heat a smidgen and put a lid on the pot.

While the cassoulet is simmering, heat oven to 375 degrees. Toss bread crumbs with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and the tablespoon of garlic. Spread on a foil-lined cookie sheet and bake until toasted, 7-10 minutes. Check and stir after 5 minutes or so. After crumbs are nicely browned, remove from oven and set aside

When the beans and tomatoes start breaking down, remove the rib bones (sucking any meat left on the bone as that is cook's privilege), squish a few of the beans against the side of the pot just to thicken the cassoulet a bit. Taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the parsley and fennel fronds, let cassoulet come to a simmer, and add the meat to the pot. Cover and let the meat cook to desired degree (you know me, I am a rare girl myself), roughly 3-4 minutes for rare to medium rare. Ladle meat and beans into a shallow bowl (or a deep plate), garnish with toasted bread crumbs, and serve with a fork and spoon. Dig in.

P.P.S. I'm finishing this post while fighting a migraine aura. It is indeed hard to type around the dancing worms floating in my eyes. Please let me know if there is a glaring error (or not-so-glaring error) I need to correct. Don't be shy now. Oh yes, and I will, on a later date, post the scallop chowder recipe. For now, I will just tantalize with a photograph.

Tasty Little Risotto Cakes

2009-06-03T15:41:00.004-05:00

Normally I would pack any leftover orzo risotto into a container for a weekday lunch, especially leftover garlic and sweet pea risotto. However, after Saturday evening’s Scarf-Fest 2009, there was nary a pea or slice of garlic to be found. Okay, so I am exaggerating a tad, there was a scoop or two clinging to the sides of the Gladware container, but not enough to be a satisfactory mid-day, mid-week meal when I need more energy and fewer white carbohydrates.

And so, Saturday’s Scarf-Fest 2009 was followed by Sunday afternoon’s Lox-and-Bagel-Palooza, and with a combined effort both caused complete fullness for Shane and me until about 8:00 that same evening. Faced with going to bed without supper (how un-American) to the fear of awakening the next morning famished, I agreed to fix us a super-light supper of fried pasta. What is that you say? Light and fried are contradictory? Would it help if I promise the only part of the pasta that was fried was the outside of these extraordinary little cakes that I served atop a scattering of fresh lettuce leaves tossed in a lemon and garlic vinaigrette? No? I used olive oil. No? I used a maximum of two tablespoons of olive oil in the pan. Still not convinced? Well, I have many times before stuffed myself silly with a healthy chicken breast more so than I did Sunday evening with my tasty little risotto cake. Throw a little caution to the wind and treat oneself to a bit of fried pasta now-and-then. Shane and I agreed they were worth every bite, especially the bite I wrapped in a lettuce leaf -- now that’s what makes the fried virtuous!

P.S. If you still cannot bring yourself to try this recipe even as you are about to dump the remainder of your risotto (orzo or otherwise) into the trash because you are not a leftover person, or, much like my situation, there is not enough left for another meal, I urge you to give risotto cakes a try. We’ll not call it fried pasta anymore -- sautéed pasta, that’s it! Yes! Tonight we are having leftover orzo risotto cakes that are sautéed in olive oil! And you can sauté your leftover risotto made from Arborio rice or even barley. Sautéed cakes of whole grain -- crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, and fibrous from crunch to creamy to crunch.

I am still working on making these little cakes stay together, but I used the following recipe as my jumping-off point. Use any leftover risotto hanging around from orzo to Arborio rice to barley. Even if they do not look perfect . . . yum!

Tasty Little Risotto Cakes

2 cups cold leftover risotto
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons fine bread crumbs, divided
1 egg, separated
1 whole egg
olive oil for pan-frying

Combine the risotto with two tablespoons of bread crumbs and the egg yolk. Mix thoroughly with a fork or with your hands. Shape mixture into four equal balls and flatten into cakes about 3/4 inch high. Mix together the egg white and the whole egg. Have ready the remaining ¼ cup of bread crumbs. Heat a pan with a 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat heat. Dredge each cake into the egg* before coating each side in bread crumbs. Cook the cakes, flipping once, until both sides are a deep golden brown. Serve at once.

*My cakes did not want to stay together when I plunked them into the egg mixture. I wound up somewhat squashing the outer egg mixture and breadcrumbs into the cake, but all the same they sautéed nicely and held together enough for Shane and me to enjoy every last morsel.

Dear Matt's Cookies:

2009-05-19T14:16:00.002-05:00

I am your closest competition on the corner of Cullom and Wolcott Avenues. For friendly thank you gesture for a friendly computer guru who fixed our lap top, over the weekend I baked chocolate chip cookies galore, each loaded with milk chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips, gobs of butter, a hint of saltiness, baked to a chewy/crisp finale.

Yes Matt, or so you call yourself, I even snuggled the still-warm cookies into tight containers so they would retain their chew the next day, as that was the first I could see my computer guru friend.

And finally Matt (if that is your true name), yes I did give away all my cookies all the time hinting to Shane that if he wanted me to make him some chocolate chip cookies (with pecans no less!) instead of my buying him your cookies Matt (as I do on a twice-weekly basis), well, frankly, I was snubbed.

“It’s no bother,” I said to Shane. “I enjoy baking you cookies. I’ll even put pecans in them, such as Matt’s.”

“No honey, you rest. Besides, only Matt can make chocolate chip cookies with pecans. Don’t try to duplicate Matt’s.”

Fine – I’ll just go read.

Sincerely,

Emilie K. Tytenicz

P.S. I tried Matt's oatmeal raisin cookies for the first time last night. This is cookie madness. Even Shane-who-does-not-like-raisins did not and could not stop at one cookie.

My Chocolate Chip Cookies (Sans the Pecans)

Based on and Adapted from Jacques Torres - New York Times - Published: July 9, 2008 (they, that was 2 days before my 30th birthday!)

Okay, these are really Jacques’ Cookies and my additions are italicized in parenthesis.

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour
1 2/3 cups all purpose or bread flour (Jacques says bread flour, I say either or – I used all purpose as the protein count is not much different than bread flour's protein count)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt (I used 1 ¼ teaspoons fine sea salt)
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar (I used dark brown sugar)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract (I left out the vanilla)
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (I used about 10 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips and about 10 ounces of milk chocolate chips)
Sea salt. (I did not sprinkle with sea salt, although I would have if these cookies were for strictly for me)

Back to Jacques --

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin. (Or transfer straightaway to a container after the 10 minute cool-off time.)

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies. (I made more like 3-inch cookies yielding a good 2 dozen cookies, and this was after Shane ate about 1/6 of my dough – I am sure I could have gotten an even 30 out of the deal.)

Oh Happy Day Part II

2009-05-15T06:55:00.007-05:00

Woo woo! The farmers’ market opened this week, and yesterday I took advantage of the sunshine, gorgeous outside temperature, and my two good legs (no offence Shane). Way too excited to wait until a later lunch hour, I left at 10:30 in the morning, walked over to the Daley Plaza, hit all the stalls sporting lots of produce (flowers, baked goods and cheese stalls ignored – I was on a mission), and made it back to work in 33 minutes flat.

And here is what is what landed in my goody bag:

Two bunches of Asparagus
Three bunches of Rhubarb
One large bag of Spinach
One bunch of Watercress
Green Garlic
Leeks
Dried Michigan Cherries
Morels
Shiitake Mushrooms
Cremini Mushrooms

One Hazelnut Chocolate Truffle for Shane
One Chocolate Walnut Caramel for Emilie

And the menu for the upcoming week:

Asparagus and Morel Orzo Risotto
Potato Leek Soup
Watercress Pesto over Linguine
Fontina, Caramelized Onions and Mushroom Pizza
Green Garlic and Spinach Soup
Chicken Salad Sandwich

Okay, the chicken salad sandwich has nothing really to do with my farmers’ market finds. Shane just requested to have some in the refrigerator for a quick snack. However, I may try to find a way to sneak the dried Michigan cherries into the salad as a replacement for the grapes or raisins I normally use.

The chocolate walnut caramel is long gone. In fact, it barely survived through lunchtime. Somehow a hybrid of fudge, a fudge-like brownie and a fudge-like caramel wrapped into one intense package, I have a feeling this will be my $0.75 weekly Thursday treat.

Oh Happy Day

2009-05-13T15:56:00.002-05:00

I am happy, happy, and happy today despite the sleepy, rainy, dreary weather (and despite the attorney –ahemJocelynahem - who insisted on coming into work after having been up all night revisiting everything she had eaten within a 24 hour period). Why am I so happy, happy, happy? Pretend as if you asked instead of my just wanting to share. In my hurry to get Shane and me out the door so we would not miss the train, I left my afternoon snack in my refrigerator at home. I do not necessarily need an afternoon snack, but sometimes I go from satisfied to ravenous and the deconstructed path I make is not a beauty.

Today, however, was an exception. Firstly, I did not eat lunch until 1:00 in the afternoon. I do enjoy eating a later lunch as eating lunch at 11:30 in the morning has me staring at the 3:18 PM on my computer screen and counting down the hours until suppertime. Lately, suppertime has not occurred before 7:00 due to physical therapy and Shane’s and my taking a later evening train home.

However, I did need a little something sweet, and the 2 plump Turkish figs would have fit that bill had I not been in such a hurry this morning, as would the citrus-infused, locally made, artisan dark chocolate truffle I had already devoured at 10:30 this morning with the last of my iced coffee. Citrus infused – does that count as a serving of fruit?

Never mind the fruit-infused chocolate truffle versus the apple or banana I should have eaten instead (oh wait, I did eat that banana before I ripped into creamy, dark chocolate goodness); I now am happy, happy, and happy because a sweet co-worker offered me part of her tangy, juicy, just-sweet-enough grapefruit that fulfilled the “gotta-have-something sweet-after-lunch” bill.

Thank you Sandy.

And many thanks to you Jocelyn for going home for the rest of my day and for not touching my stapler as Steve invariably does every time he comes into the office with a head cold. (And shall I mention the time he did get sick in the men’s room, only to walk over to my desk afterwards to tell me the gory details all the while picking up my stapler, stapling papers he had printed before getting sick, and then breathing into my space. That is an Emilie no-no.)

3:57 PM and I am still satisfied. I can make it until the 7:30 chicken tortilla soup mark. I am most happy, happy, and happy for leftover Sunday soup.

This is One Ramp That Will Not Hold Shane's Wheelchair

2009-05-12T06:36:00.005-05:00

Last Wednesday night after his physical therapy session, Shane took me for steak, fries, wine and ambiance, which was just what this tofu and salad gal needed on a chilly and rainy evening. Mmmm… steak frites and a healthy dose of merlot before I was dropped back into cooking reality the next evening. Meals around the Chicago chapter of the Tytenicz household have of lately been fast and more furious than any lame attempt of a summer blockbuster film, and the following evening was no exception.

I came across a display of locally grown ramps in my locally constructed Whole Foods, and I, being the fascinated child I am with unfamiliar ingredients, bought a bunch without even knowing how to use the green onion-looking bulbs each sporting a house plant-like leaf – edible as well. After a few searches via Google, I soon learned one of the most popular way to fix ramps was in a simple scrambled egg dish.

What a peasantry trend.

Being raised on scrambled eggs as a Saturday morning breakfast, sometimes paired with pancakes sporting little hearts or happy faces or even my initials of ER (Emilie Roop you silly people); and sometimes paired with square waffles with crispy edges and shallow pockets that caught just enough Country Crock without being overwhelmed with the freshly churned taste; and sometimes simply with a few pieces of bacon or breakfast sausage and heavily buttered and toasted Wonder Bread (buttered first and then toasted – that’s an art).

As an adult, scrambled eggs have not been my first choice as I enjoy the thick, runny yolk of good poached, fried or soft boiled eggs as an accompaniment to thick slices of home made and buttery sourdough bread (bread toasted and then buttered – it’s a statement). I do enjoy food that comes with its own sauce.

Here lately I have re-discovered the scrambled egg, lightly stirred, just barely set, and chased around my plate by slices of crusty bread. A few mushrooms or newly discovered ramps, sliced and sautéed before adding the eggs, turns an old Saturday routine into an elegant last minute meal.

And what an easy meal to throw together after an evening of Shane’s physical therapy –

Scrambled Eggs with Ramps with a side of home fries.

For 2 servings

6 large eggs
2 tablespoons cream, half-and-half or milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter (or a combination of both)
1 good sized bunch of ramps, about 6 or 7 ramps

Beat eggs with cream (or whichever milk product is preferred) and salt and pepper to your delight. Set aside.

Clean ramps thoroughly, peeling off the outer skin if necessary. Chop the bulbs and the leaves separately, and set aside. Over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon of butter and/or oil in a medium skillet. Add the ramp bulbs and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the ramp leaves, sauté until wilted, about a minute or two. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and/or olive oil to the skillet. Add the eggs to the skillet, and let them sit for a minute or so before gently stirring them until they are just set (I like mine still wobbly). Serve immediately with home fries or buttered toast.

Home Fries

For 2 servings

2 medium Yukon Gold or other roasting potatoes
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil (grease foil with a bit of oil). Slice potatoes into quarters or eighths – the smaller the wedges the faster they will roast. In a medium bowl toss together the potato wedges and olive oil, and salt and pepper the potatoes. Roast potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet for 20 to 40 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes wedges. Check frequently to ensure the potatoes are not burning. Serve with an optional side of ketchup (generously peppered in our household).

Happy Mother’s Day Mom – This Blog is for You!

2009-05-06T06:52:00.012-05:00

Faithful readers (that means you mom) do not despair. I am still in the kitchen, apron tied at the waist and at the neck, hot pads still in my hand, making a din of the pots and pans just out of my arms’ reach. However, I am between cooking seasons -- transitioning from bean stew to bean salad -- and I am tired of winter vegetables as I eagerly await the abundance of summer produce. My being in between cooking seasons is much like the end of a haircut – I have no inspiration causing me to reach for the bobby pins to make the most of my ‘do until I visit the salon. Coupled with a busier schedule as Shane and I are scuttling off to physical therapy at least two nights a week and to the workout center the remaining evenings, suppers have been fast, simple, and, in my honest opinion (that’s IMHO for the computer lingo-fluent readers) not especially blog-worthy. Okay, admittedly I have created something special only to have sat down and devoured every morsel before regretting I did not snap a photo.

Take my creation of a lamb and feta pizza on flat bread. Humble ingredients – leftover roast lamb, chunks of French feta cheese, roasted tomatoes, garlic, salt and grindings of pepper – were piled onto lavish bread bought from one of many Middle Eastern Bakeries in Albany Park, popped into a hot oven directly onto my baking stone allowing for the feta to soften and brown and ooze all over the lamb. Wow – especially with a ripe, thick and spicy red wine – and, oops, forgot to give the meal a photo op.

I still have leftover lamb in the freezer, I still have French feta cheese in the fridge, do I hear “repeat”?

Going along with the pizza kick, last night’s pizza and salad de jour was a clever combination of bitter, savory, nutty, salty, smooth and sweet – Radicchio and Wild Mushroom Pizza with Mozzarella and Blue Cheese paired with a Butter Lettuce, Radicchio and Toasted Walnut Salad tossed in Maple Mustard Vinaigrette. I can still taste the creaminess of the melted mozzarella, meatiness of the mushrooms and saltiness of the Maytag blue cheese. Though I baked the pizza directly on my baking stone, it was still a touch soggy in the middle. A little regretful, though this did not take away from the *WOW!* factor, I vowed to next time pre-bake my crust before piling on the sautéed radicchio and mushrooms.

And while trees are coming alive on Cullom Avenue and Tulips are making their jolly appearances in red, yellow, purple buds on Hutchinson Street, I still await the 2009 farmers’ market season to spring, opening next week in the loop. I look forward to stockpiling strawberries and rhubarb for jam kicked with balsamic vinegar (note to self, put balsamic vinegar on grocery list) and a hint of brown sugar; asparagus for quiche, pastas, and simply roasted alongside the chicken or two that will find their way into my eco-friendly reusable shopping tote.

Alas, right now Shane and I are making our way through the last bits of split pea soup, ham and beans, drunken beans, sober beans with shrimp, and every other last bit of winter coziness. I have officially put away my snow boots for the season, and now the only bean I want to see is one in a salad dressed with a handful of fresh tarragon served alongside slices of heirloom tomatoes, zippy peppers, and a wedge of tangy cheese. Mmm, feast.

Radicchio and Wild Mushroom Pizza with Mozzarella and Blue Cheese

Serves 2 with a bit of room for dessert

For the pizza:

You will need a pizza crust, 10-12 inches in diameter. Use your favorite recipe, or try this one here. It’s a touch fussy, but make a large batch, shape the shells, and freeze. Tossing the dough to shape it is optional.

1 small head of radicchio, shredded
6 ounces of wild mushrooms, brushed clean and sliced
2 large shallots, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 ounces Maytag Blue, Roquefort, Gorgonzola or your favorite blue cheese, crumbled
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees, and, once oven has heated, pre-bake the pizza shell for 5 minutes if desired. As I have not tried this myself with this combination, I cannot guarantee the results lend a crisper crust. However, if a crisper crust all around is desired, this is a good step to take.

While the optional crust-baking is, well, baking, in a heavy pan, sauté the radicchio, mushrooms and shallots in one tablespoon of olive oil, over medium heat, until the radicchio has wilted and the mushrooms have given up their water, about 5 minutes. Towards the end of the sautéing time, turn the heat up a smidge to allow the mushroom water to evaporate. Salt and pepper the mixture to taste.

Pile sautéed radicchio mixture onto crust and top with mozzarella and crumbled blue cheese. Grind pepper over the top and bake for 10-20 minutes depending on how thick the crust is (thinner crust equals less baking time) and if the crust has been pre-baked. I baked my pizza, fairly thin crust, for 15 minutes. Remember, I did not pre-bake my crust. When crust is browned and cheese is melted and even turning a bit brown itself, remove from oven, let cool for a few minutes, slice and enjoy with a tangy and sweet salad on the side.

Butter Lettuce, Radicchio and Toasted Walnut Salad tossed in Maple Mustard Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon olive, hazelnut, or walnut oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup (grade B is great for this)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp grainy mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper

½ small head of butter lettuce, washed, dried and chopped
1/3 head of radicchio, washed, dried and chopped
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (toasted optional)
1 ounce blue cheese (again Maytag, Roquefort, Gorgonzola, etc.) sliced or crumbled

In a small jar or in a bowl, combine the oil, maple syrup, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper until dressing is thick. Taste and adjust seasonings.

In a medium bowl toss together the lettuces with the nuts and blue cheese, add the dressing, toss some more, and serve with a grinding of pepper on top for a bit kick.

Emilie wants to keep eating the Scallop and Sweet Pea Barley Risotto.

2009-03-31T06:21:00.001-05:00

Okay, a little play on what I could announce on my Facebook profile, because my little world of friends do care what I want to keep eating. You my dear reader obviously care too or else you would not be wasting precious time of which so little is to be had in our hurried 21st century days. Sunday, originally invented to be the day of rest, was my day of errands – laundry, massive shopping spree at Target (three 12 packs of Kleenex Cottonelle, two 16 packs of Viva paper towels, 400 gallons of Purell Free and Clear laundry detergent, you get the drift), hauling up the stairs and organizing the provisions from Target, and, oh yeah, supper.

Oooh, Sunday supper, one of my favorite meals as I normally have the extra time to create a more complex meal and yesterday was no exception despite the chores. After I organized the closet just so (on the very top shelf, balancing the toilet paper atop the paper towels so that when I reach for either, all will come cascading onto my head and thank the heavens we do not wipe “things” with bricks and rocks), I organized my kitchen for what promised to be a wholesome dish – Sweet Pea and Scallop Barley Risotto kindly borrowed from Tyler Florence’s version. Being that risotto is one of those dishes that seems to multiply the more I spoon it onto a dish, I halved the recipe to serve 2-3 instead of 4-6. I still have about 2 servings for leftovers this week. Besides halving the portion size, I dare say I did not stray much from the original recipe with the exception of using barley in place of Arborio rice and half chicken stock half clam juice. Oh yes, I did add a touch of fresh lemon zest at the end, and this, along with the other minor changes, are keepers. In fact, Emilie wants to keep eating the Scallop and Sweet Pea Barley Risotto – but she’ll save some for lunch the next day.

Scallop and Sweet Pea Barley Risotto

Adapted from Tyler Florence’s Food 911 – Rescue Risotto

1 cup fresh peas, cooked (if using frozen, rinse under cool water to thaw) - divided
2 cups chicken stock mixed with 2 cups clam juice, heated
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound bay scallops
1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 slim, slim stalk celery, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1 cups pearl barley
½ cup dry white wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 - 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Zest of one lemon

Puree ½ cup of the peas with a few ladles of warmed stock. Set pureed peas aside.* In a large, deep skillet, over medium heat warm the butter and sauté scallops until they are just shy of done, about 2-3 minutes. They’ll finish cooking at the end of the risotto. Tip shallots from the pan, pouring any accumulating juices into the pan of warm broth, and set shallots aside.

Add olive oil to the pan, warm the pan over medium heat, and sauté the celery and shallots until they are soft, about 4 minutes. Stir in the barley, and allow it to absorb the shallot and celery goodness for a minute or so. It will lightly toast and pop a bit, so stir a few times. Add the wine, let it bubble, stir a bit, and then let the barley absorb the wine before adding the first ladle of warm broth. Stir the barley after adding the broth, but from here, I do not feel the need to tell you to stir, stir, stir the barley until the broth is absorbed. As a matter of fact, I washed dishes as each ladle of broth was added and absorbed. Of course since my kitchen is so small that I can stand in the middle, reach out both my arms and touch my neighbors (to the north and south of me), I did not feel guilty for not hovering over my barley risotto. However, if your kitchen is a touch bigger than mine so that your sink is in a different zip code than your stove, perhaps hanging around and stirring a bit is not such a bad idea. But you do not have to smother your risotto. Let it breath, let it be independent.

Okay, so the first ladle of broth is added. Stir a bit, let it absorb, keeping the heat on a steady medium to medium-low (do not let the broth evaporate out through bubbling too much or you will have to add more liquid at the end). As each ladle of broth is absorbed, add another ladle, stir, repeat until the last ladle is added and the barley is giving up its bite. It will be chewy but it should not be crunchy. This should take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes.

Once the barley is chewy and creamy, add the reserved pureed peas and the whole peas. Stir, cover the pan, and let it simmer maybe 3 minutes or so. Stir in the Parmigiano-Reggiano, lemon zest, and scallops. Cover pan and let risotto heat through for another minute or two before serving perhaps with a grating of Parmigiano-Reggiano, a dab or butter or a twist of lemon – or just by its own good self as I did.

*You may be tempted to skip step to puree the peas as I was tempted to skip it. However, in the end I was grateful I took the time to puree the peas as I was rewarded with an extra velvety and a lightly sweet and earthy risotto. On a rushed weeknight, try using orzo in place of the barley and do not bother pureeing the peas, just toss them end at the end and let them simmer in the risotto for a few minutes.

Whatever Floats Your Oats

2009-03-16T06:54:00.005-05:00

So it took a leg’s breaking to encourage Shane to sow his (steel-cut) oats in the morning. With a colorful assortment of various drugs and supplements, Shane’s brain says “bacon and eggs with buttery toast” but I interpret “big bowl of steamy oatmeal with milk and a pat of butter – easy on the brown sugar.” Lately Shane’s stomach as agreed with my interpretation, because he is actually requesting a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. Someone please dial a notary and get this statement notarized – Shane likes his morning oatmeal.

As do I. I like my oatmeal with a few dashes of salt and a plop of crème fraiche though I will not turn down a bowl of the creamy, milk-simmered kind. And as I am one who craves a bit of savory greens to get my day going, I am not opposed to stirring in a truck full of greens, be it baby spinach or chopped kale, before stirring in the finishing crème fraiche. Not quite a risotto, not quite soft polenta, creamy, chewy oats with creamy greens is one of my favorite starts to the day.

Shane likes his lightly sweetened with brown sugar, and for that I am happy to accommodate.

Oats come in many mind-boggling forms from fruity to rolled and my favorite, steel-cut. Sometimes labeled as Irish Oats or Scotch Oats, are whole grain oat groats (thank you Wikipedia.org for helping me describe that). Steel cut oats take longer to cook than traditional oats – sometimes as long as 30 minutes. However, the time can be greatly cut down if the oats are soaked overnight in half or all the cooking liquid. If I am going to simmer my oats partially in milk, I will soak the oats in water over night and in the morning add milk to the soaking liquid and oats before starting them to a simmer. This reduces the cooking time to a reasonable 10 to 15 minutes, time which rewards Shane and me with bowls of creamy and chewy goodness that can be served straight-up, with a shot of sugar and butter, or a bunch of greens finished with that dollop of crème fraiche.

Pressed for even more time? Try it on a lazy Sunday morning, make extras for the next few days, and reheat it on a busy morning, stirring some extra water or milk to un-clump the grains.

Emilie’s Early Morning Greens and Groats

1/3 cup steel-cut oatmeal (Irish Oats or Scotch Oats)
1 2/3 cups water
Dash of salt plus more to taste
1 huge bunch of chopped baby spinach, kale, arugula, or swiss chard
1 or 2 tablespoons crème fraiche (to taste)

Soak oats in the water overnight.

Bring oats and soaking water to a simmer and add salt. Reduce heat and stir, stir, stir, especially since oats like to make water foam and boil over. Once mixture has thickened a bit, let oats simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally to ensure the oats are not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once oats start have absorbed most of the water and are to a desired consistency, add the greens, a handful at a time, and stir until the greens wilt. Repeat until all the greens are in the pot and wilted. Add crème Fraiche, taste for seasonings, and adjust as needed. Serve immediately with a dab of butter or extra cream if you so desire.
Here’s a different take on Greens and Groats that I tried this morning:

Emilie’s Early Morning Nutty Greens and Groats

1/3 cup steel-cut oatmeal (Irish Oats or Scotch Oats)
1 2/3 cups water
Dash of salt plus more to taste
1 huge bunch of chopped baby spinach, kale, arugula, or swiss chard
2 tablespoons crunchy almond butter, peanut butter, or ¼ cup chopped toasted walnuts

Soak oats in the water overnight.

Bring oats and soaking water to a simmer and add salt. Reduce heat and stir, stir, stir, especially since oats like to make water foam and boil over. Once mixture has thickened a bit, let oats simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally to ensure the oats are not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Once oats start have absorbed most of the water and are to a desired consistency, add the greens, a handful at a time, and stir until the greens wilt. Repeat until all the greens are in the pot and wilted. Add nut butter or nuts of choice, taste and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately with a dab of butter or extra cream if you so desire, but I prefer mine dairy-free to let the nuttiness shine.

And did I mention how apropos that in the month of St. Patrick's Day I am urging my faithful readers to make Irish-style oats laced with greens?

All for Me, None for Him

2009-03-10T06:39:00.008-05:00

I do get bummed when a meal does not pass the muster of Shane’s taste buds. Considering how many times I have teased and tested Shane’s taste buds, I suppose I am a tad more reckless about pushing the culinary edge than when we first married. Too timid to cook anything beyond the basic chicken and sweet potatoes, steak and roasted potatoes, or salmon cakes and corn relish, nowadays I am bold enough to plop a rare lamb chop surrounded by Flageolet beans and roasted baby tomatoes expecting gobbles and proclamations of “yum” – both of which I received Saturday evening – yay me!

However, there are nights when, after picking at my lovingly created meal, Shane’s only salvation is in the bag of Matt’s Real Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies chased by Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup-doctored glass of 2 % milk. Perhaps what I created is not exactly his cup of tea, as the Tepary Beans with Prosciutto and Creamy Mustard Dressing I made last week.

Okay, I loved this dish with the savory beans, pungent stone-ground mustard and richness of the Prosciutto – but then again, I am not on medication right now. I happen to forget that with a body pumped full of narcotics, simple is better for Shane. I, on the other hand, need the dance of flavors that by themselves are pirouetting to their own Tchaikovsky before bumping up against each other to form a well synchronized troupe.

Alas, right now Shane needs the soothing strings of a single violin or cello over an entire sympathy’s performance of crashes and crescendos accompanying legs and tutus in one beautifully mad spectacle.

We can go back to chicken for a while sweetie. And yes, I enjoyed the lamb too.

Bean or Lentil Salad with Prosciutto and Creamy Mustard Dressing

I used Rancho Gordo's Brown Tepary Beans for this salad. They are wonderful, savory beans that have more chew than lentils. Substitute Puy Lentils, Cranberry Beans, or any heirloom bean.

½ pound Brown Tepary Beans, Cranberry Beans or any heirloom beans or Puy Lentils
1 fat clove of garlic, squashed, skin removed, but do not chop
1 sprig rosemary
Salt
2 tablespoons crème fraiche
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon grainy mustard
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
3/4 cup chopped Prosciutto
1/2 of a small onion, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cook beans or lentils with the clove of garlic, sprig of rosemary and a good shake of salt until just tender. If using very fresh beans, soaking is not required. However, if you think your beans are not so fresh, give them a good soak for about 6 hours. Beans should take about an hour or so to cook, lentils maybe 30 minutes but give them a check after 20 minutes. Remove sprig of rosemary and garlic if desired (I just left mine in due to laziness), and drain beans or lentils leaving a smidgen of water to keep the beans moist.

Combine crème fraiche, mustards, vinegar and thyme in a large bowl. Add beans or lentils with the smidgen of water, Prosciutto and onion. Mix well and season to taste.

Flageolet Beans with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes
by Erica De Mane
From Fine Cooking 30, pp. 32-37

Serves 10 (leftovers freeze nicely)

For the tomatoes:
2 lb. ripe plum tomatoes
1 tsp. kosher salt

For the beans:
1 lb. dried flageolet beans, soaked at least 6 hours
1 carrot, peeled and cut in half
1 small yellow onion, peeled and cut in half
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
6 sprigs fresh thymeKosher salt
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced

Roast the tomatoes -- Heat the oven to 250°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil. Core the tomatoes and cut them in half lengthwise. Put them on the baking sheet, cut side up, and sprinkle with the salt. Bake the tomatoes until they look dry but are still slightly plump and not leathery, 4 to 6 hours, depending on their size. Cut any large pieces in half.

Cook the beans -- Drain the soaking beans and put them in a large pot along with the carrot, onion, and bay leaves. Tie the parsley and thyme together and add them to the pot. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until tender, about 2 hours. Check that the beans stay covered with liquid, adding more if needed. When the beans are tender, add the salt. (The beans can be cooked up to 2 days ahead. Remove the carrot, onion, herbs, and bay leaves and refrigerate the beans in their liquid.)

In a Dutch oven or high-sided skillet, heat the olive oil over medium. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add the celery and cook until softened slightly, about 2 minutes. Drain the beans, reserving their cooking liquid. Add the beans and 2 cups of the cooking liquid to the celery and garlic. Add the slow-roasted tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. (At this point, the dish can be covered and held up to an hour at room temperature.)

I served the flageolet beans and tomatoes with four lamb loin chops, each about 3 ounces. In a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic and chopped rosemary, I marinated the chops for about four hours. Before searing each chop, I patted the chops dry and seared them in a dry cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. For rare chops I seared for about 2-3 minutes per side. For medium-rare, I upped it to 3 1/2 minutes or so per side. It was trial and error, but the chops were juicy, tender, and just the right amount of meat to complement the beans.

The Jingle of Change

2009-02-26T10:37:00.005-06:00

For the love of my home state I was obviously thinking about you Oklahoma as I cut off the rind off my most recent slab of bacon. No this near perfect depiction of the panhandle down to the edge of the Red River up to the northeast corner of the Kansas/Missouri/Oklahoma Border was not doctored nor tampered with nor even thought-ahead – this beauty of a bacon rind was sliced as is, a total freak accident, and a reminder of where I come from.

This little bacon piece of reminder causes reflection of where I am now and why I made the seemingly daring choice of leaving all I know and all my comfort to settle in Chicago – a city where I knew no one except for my brand new husband.

Firstly, in the summer of 2007, in the matter of mere months, I threw together a very simple wedding for my betrothed and me. Shane and I had originally planned an October wedding – nothing crazy or huge, but far enough down to road for me to catch my breath and realize my life was changing. . . for the better. This simple October wedding was in the works towards the end of March of 2007.

By the end of April of 2007, with Shane’s already living and securing a life in Chicago, we both realized, on the same Saturday morning, over a telephone call, that perhaps within the same hour that waiting until October was going to be impossible. “What do you think about bumping it up to June?” Shane asked. I replied, with all the charm of a giddy gal nearly engaged, “Does this mean I can call you my fiance now?” Later that day, it struck me that I had two months to plan a wedding, find a home for some of my big furniture that would not survive an across country move, and, oh yes, come to terms with that move.

Secondly, shortly before the wedding, I totally quit my job without the promise of another. It was a good job with interesting and extremely nice people I conversed with on a daily basis. Alas, the owner/my boss flat-out refused to accommodate my wish for the business’s moving to Chicago with me, and so I sadly left behind my comrades and my promise of a regular salary.

Thirdly, I decided to make my own wedding cakes to feed 50 plus people. Now I know this is not exactly a mob to feed, but as I was used to cooking for one and 6 plus one pint-size at the most, I did wonder, two days before my wedding as I was making Silver White Cake layer after Guinness Chocolate Cake layer from scratch, what on earth had I gotten myself into – cake-wise, move-wise, no-job-wise, life-wise. Emilie-wise, it all equated the panacea for which I must have at one time asked.

One ceremony, three successful cakes that had to be set in front of the air conditioner for threats of melting icing, and one packed Penske Truck 4 days after the wedding, Shane and I embarked on our new lives in Chicago.

And what does this have to do with pasta? I am sure one or two or a dozen of you are expecting a picture of a cake complete with recipe. Perhaps I will cave to that request in a bit.

Now really, what does this have to do with pasta? I want to assure my readers that though I do not like change, I will embrace how change, either subtle or not so, has enhanced my life. Take pasta for instance. I have a tried-and-true recipe for butternut squash pasta – cubed of peeled butternut squash sautéed with shallots, fresh herbs, a touch of spice and simmered in a bit of chicken broth before a touch of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and chopped Prosciutto finish the sauce that is tossed with linguine or, perhaps, angel hair pasta. Delicious, a touch fussy, and my old stand by.

Now it is time to embrace a change. Sever Tuesday evenings earlier, before the skiing incident, I had the itch to try out a new pasta recipe with familiar ingredients. However, I swapped the shallots for garlic, Ricotta Salata for Parmigiano-Reggiano, and roasting for sautéing. No chicken broth was necessary, as a little pasta water helped to wet the pasta and create a light sauce to coat the angel hair pasta.

So fast, so easy, so not fussy. I like change. In fact I like change so much that, per Shane's request to help his femur heal, I am making this dish again tonight. You can find the recipe here, archived in the Health section of the New York Times. Do leave in the roasted garlic though. Just pop it out of the skins and mix it with the butternut squash and cheese.

And the Winner for Most Grace Tumble Down a Hill on Cross-Country Skis is. . .

2009-02-23T09:45:00.011-06:00

My husband is a perfectionist. Shane's neatly folded slacks and undershirts are his doing; Shane has kept a budget spreadsheet long before budget became a buzz word; and when Shane broke his leg last Saturday while descending the highest hill on the most difficult trail in Big M National Forrest, his graceful fall kept him from getting a concussion or even breaking his glasses. In fact, there was hardly a bruise on him until the nurses' needles starting poking at him. What class! What grace! What a surprising twist to our four-day vacation up to Manistee for one last winter adventure.

Ha ha, twist, no pun intended with apologies to my dear Shane. But let us cut to the who, what, where, when, why, and how. Okay, so the who, what, where, when and how have been covered. Why? Well, Shane and I had planned one last hurrah in Michigan before easing into a Chicago spring (which normally happens the same time as an Oklahoma summer). We enjoyed our winter sporting in Manistee so much the first go-around that we decided to not only spend a long weekend in the charming town, but we also wanted to make it a priority to visit more of the local restaurants and shops in between our sporting, namely a highly recommended sub sandwich and pizza joint, Big Al's. However, before our reward at Big Al's, it was time to warm up at Big M.

I, as usual, wandered in the opposite direction of the ski trails clad in my snowshoes and unprepared for how deep and fresh the snow was in the backwoods. Every step was a deep step, sometimes deep enough for snow to reach my knees. After an hour of fighting my way through the woods and after not accomplishing much terrain, I gave up and headed back to a smoother, well-snow-packed main road. I enjoyed my new scenery, and I could not wait to meet Shane back at the car to tell him about my day's meager adventures. A few rounds of trudging and tromping brought my day's work to an end as I headed back to the car at a dusky 4:30 in the late afternoon -- a mere 30 minutes after our loosely agreed upon time to meet before heading back to the motel and then to supper. I was a touched surprised to not see Shane as I approached the car. However, Shane had been excited for weeks about visiting Big M's trails once more, and I figured he was making good use of his excitement. I made myself comfortable in the front passenger seat before watching the various people traipsing around the parking lot into the lodge and in the surrounding woods.

Not too long into my observations I started dozing -- a little nod before I shook myself awake to watch for Shane: 4:45 pm -- no Shane yet, and I was getting hungry; 5:00 pm -- Shane still was not here. I was hungry and getting concerned; 5:15 pm -- Where is he? crossed my mind. I was ravenous and getting anxious; 5:30 pm -- Those cannot be for him. I lost my appetite as I panicked at the sight of 2 ambulances pulling into the parking lot.

And why should I panic? There are dozens of people in the park today including a Boy Scout troop and a group of college kids who were camping out overnight. I know Shane will be skiing into the parking area at any second as he has radar for emergency vehicles and emergency excitement.

5:35 pm -- Tired of listening to arguments in my head, I left the warmth and comfort of the car to find solace to my over-active imagination. There was no way these vehicles could be for Shane, and I was about to prove it. I approached the group of EMTs that were still milling around the parking lot, and told them my situation. "My husband should have been back about 30 minutes to an hour ago, and I haven't seen him yet. Can you tell me why you were called out here?" The EMTs had just sent one of their own paramedics on foot to the victim and did not have any information as to the injury or person. "But," they assured me, "if your husband does not make it back soon, we will send someone out to find him." Partially soothed, I made my way back to the car to watch the action.

5:45 pm -- It was well after soon. I tracked down the EMTs. Immediately the burly leader radioed the paramedic who was on the scene. "We have a young lady up at the parking lot worried that her husband hasn't shown up from skiing, can you give us the name of the victim." Once the paramedic on the scene confirmed it was Shane who, indeed, took a spill and broke his leg, a feeling of fear and relief mingled as I asked my next question. "Is he conscious?" The paramedic radioed back a sweet sounding "Yes. He is awake and doing just fine."

5:50 pm-8:30 pm -- After helping me into a warmed emergency vehicle, a young EMT-in-training took me under her care and helped pass the time by telling me her life story from going to high school with her now boyfriend to her decision to volunteer as an EMT. Never was I so grateful to get to know someone in such a short period of time. In between, my new friend Jackie received updates on how Shane's rescue was going. Because of the depth of the snow coupled with the deepness of the woods where he was skiing, it took several hours to stabilize his leg, bring in a third emergency vehicle that could drive over the foot or so of snow in woods before he was carried in a stretcher via a glorified snowmobile back to the parking lot and placed into one of the emergency vehicles for transport to the ER. Between coming into the parking lot and being heaved into the ambulance, I was allowed to see for myself that Shane was okay. Not only was he okay, but was smiling and reassuring me he was in good hands -- as was I.

Might I stray a bit to explain that the above excitement happened on Valentine's Saturday over the long President's Day weekend. Shane and I do not make Valentine's Day a day to celebrate our love we have for each other every day of the year. We had no fancy plans for supper that evening, and in fact, the evening before we made it a point to stop in Muskegon, Michigan to eat at our favorite restaurant, The Hearthstone. I, as has been my custom, ordered the Panko encrusted walleye drizzled with creamy mustard sauce; steamed broccolini; and roasted carrots, parsnips and onions. Shane tried the steak and (crab) cake with his favorite creamed spinach and a side of asparagus. We left the restaurant satisfied, warm, and, as usual, feeling loved by the friendly staff. Since we were to drive into Manistee the next day, we decided to make our Valentine's Day supper one of pizza and subs at Big Al's joking about how a pizza joint on Valentine's Day fit perfectly into our simplistic life.

Alas, our anticipated Valentine's Day dinner at Big Al's was postponed. And although Shane and I do not routinely make Valentine's Day a big deal, we both felt an outpouring of love on a most apropos day. From the skier who found Shane, brought him a blanket and stayed with him until the paramedics arrived, to the paramedics themselves who did a wonderful job caring for Shane as the EMTs waited with me and talked me through what was happening on Shane's end, the same EMTs who placed me in a warm vehicle and brought me water and a flashlight for when I needed to hunt for the bathroom; from Jackie, the EMT-in-training who not only hung out with me until Shane was put into the ambulance, but who also drove with me to West Shore Medical Center and made sure I was in their good hands, to the ER nurses who made arrangements to place Shane in a room with an extra bed so I would not have to leave him; from Mike, the owner of the Black Bear Inn where we never had to chance to check into our room and who was not vexed when I told him the situation, but who even came to Big M while the rescue was going to see if he could be of any help; from our wonderful surgeon, Dr. Rob Berry whose calm manner soothed Shane immediately and whose expertise soothed him into recovery, to all the nurses on the 2nd floor of the West Shore Medical Center whose constant care of Shane poured over into caring for me and making sure I had a comfortable bed, enough blankets, a shower, some pajamas and food in my stomach; and to the friendly shoe store people in town as I searched in vain for some canvas high top sneakers to help support Shane's ankle -- the sneakers were never located but I had the privilege to meet some of Manistee’s friendliest personnel. I love my husband, and, so I discovered, so does the entire township of Manistee, Michigan.

When we were discharged on Wednesday, four days after the accident, for the long drive back to Chicago, I was almost sorry to leave the wonderful atmosphere that created a blessing out of a scary situation. And admittedly, I was sorry to leave the delicious food I had been sampling. Yes, some hospital food is scary, and there were times that was no exception at West Shore Medical Center, but I was impressed day-after-day by the homemade soup of the day -- from a beef and vegetable soup full of vegetables such as broccoli, green beans, carrots, potatoes, and even a parsnip or two to a creamy tomato bisque that was rich without being too thick. Everyday I paired my soup with one of the many varieties of sandwiches either homemade whole wheat, white, or thick hearty rye peppered with caraway seeds. Once Shane was feeling up to solid food, peanut butter cookies fresh from the cafeteria's oven was the most requested food. While I brought him several from my cafeteria trips, Sue, the cafeteria manager, did not hesitate to bring extra cookies to Shane on her food runs up to our floor.

I am not sorry my romantic supper to Big Al's was postponed and instead spent under the harsh lights in the ER as my eyes met Shane's eyes over turkey sandwiches from the vending machine. We were both grateful our eyes could meet, our jaws could chew, and our hands could touch even before the surgery it took to stabilize a most unstable situation.

Over a week later and Shane and I are back home adjusting to life on crutches and eventually a wheelchair. It will probably be six weeks before Shane can put any weight on his left leg and three months before he is fully recovered. In my own non-medical opinion, Shane is progressing rapidly, as I can see he is determined to recover to better health than what he had before the accident. Being asked by Shane to cook smaller, vegetable and protein packed meals (and I added calcium and iron packed as well), I welcome the opportunity to help him heal by homemade, nutritious food as well as the assigned vitamins, exercise, and rest.

Bread on the Brain

2009-02-10T13:48:00.006-06:00

I do not only have opera on the brain; I daresay I have been a bit of a bread brain lately – bread and soup and cheese and even beer on the brain. As my gums are healing nicely, I do attribute their healing to a week of nutritious blended soups and my husband’s patience with the limited menu over the week.

For starters, a nice loaf of mildly sour bread made from buttermilk or sour milk just begs for the warmth of comforting soups over the light and crusty French breads of the summer months that beg for the coolness of tomatoes and basil almost still clinging to the vine. I made a batch of buttermilk sour dough over the weekend of healing as the milk made for a softer crumb that was easier for my tender mouth to chew.

As an excuse to eat the bread, I, of course, made another batch of soup -- a roasted root vegetable soup that was our favorite soup of the week, and perhaps of the winter. A lovely potage of roasted root vegetables touched by a swirl of crème fraiche, the soup was incredibly simple in that I had leftover roasted carrots, sweet potatoes, fingerling potatoes, turnips, parsnips and a rutabaga or two, all still sporting their various jackets and peels (it’s rare these days that I actually peel a carrot unless the carrot is just tough with peels), already softened and awaiting a bath of butter-sautéed onions and vegetable broth. For roughly 2 pounds of vegetables, pre-cooked weight, I used about 2 cups of broth and thinned the pureed soup as necessary with a bit of milk. Crème fraiche as a final touch is optional but as sinful as the necessary accompaniments of cheese toasts and a bottle of ale that are a must, and shan’t we forget calories for one night in sake of a proper and delicious healing?

Buttermilk Sourdough Bread

Confession time – I actually used sour milk in place of buttermilk. Plain yogurt or even kefir would be a fine substitute. You can use milk that has gone a few weeks (or a month in my case) past its expiration date. It is a great way to use up the milk that no one will drink, yet the part that makes it undrinkable lends a wonderful flavor to baked goods such as muffins, pancakes and even sour dough bread.

Makes 1 decent-sized loaf

¼ cup bubbly sourdough starter
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
Generous 1 teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cup buttermilk or sour milk (yes, that is milk that has gone past its expiration but not to the point of turning green – separation is okay, green is not)

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Turn out onto a board or your own personal kneading surface and knead until the dough is elastic, smooth and a finger comes clean when poked into the middle. This will take about 15 minutes. Alternatively, on low power (power 2 on my Kitchen Aid Mixer) knead in a stand mixer with a kneading hook attached until the described texture is reached – about 10 minutes. Stop mixer and scrape dough hook once or twice while the bread is kneading. If dough seems dry while kneading (by hand or by mixer) add a bit of water to achieve a moist but not sopping dough. Shape dough into a ball, place in an oiled bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, shape dough into a loaf or boule, use a rising basket if desired, and let rise until doubled in bulk, 6-7 hours. When dough has just about reached its peak, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Give the oven 20 or 30 minutes to heat before dumping dough out of rising basket, if using, and slashing bread with a serrated knife, lame, or (carefully) with a razor. Slide bread into oven and bake for 30-40 minutes. Check bread after 30 minutes. If bread is nicely browned, pop an instant-read thermometer into its underside. If the temperature reads 190 degrees or so, consider the bread done. If not, give the bread another 5 to 10 minutes, check again, and once bread has reached an internal temperature of 190 degrees, remove from oven and allow to cool on cooling racks. Do not cut immediately. Let the bread cool for at least an hour before devouring like the bread savage we all have in us. I too have an inner bread savage.

Delightful Roasted Root Vegetable Potage

Potage (in my definition) just means thick, usually pureed, soup. Do not bother to remove the peels from the potatoes, turnips or carrots unless they are very thick. Most rutabagas have a waxy peel that should be trimmed before roasting. Use any combination of the following vegetables keeping the quantities roughly the same.

1 small sweet potato, chopped
4 small carrots, chopped
4 small parsnips, chopped
2 small turnips, chopped
2 small rutabagas, peeled and chopped
1 small Yukon gold or red potato, chopped
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter plus more for bread
1 small onion, chopped
2 to 4 cups vegetable broth (depending on how much is on hand)
Milk as needed to thin
Crème Fraiche to serve
4 thick slices of sourdough bread
6 oz Gruyere, Raclette, or any good melting cheese, sliced or grated

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, rutabagas and potatoes with one tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast on a foil-lined cookie sheet until vegetables are soft and starting to brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a large stockpot over medium heat, sauté onion in 1 tablespoon of butter. After onion softens, add the roasted vegetables and vegetable broth. Bring broth to a simmer, cover, and let soup slowly bubble for 15 minutes or so. Cool soup slightly. In a blender, puree soup in batches being sure to not overfill the blender and please hold down the top tightly with a potholder protecting your hand. As I always remind cooks, warm or hot soup and blender do make for a volcano if one is not careful. Once all the soup is pureed, return to pot, gently reheat, and thin with milk as necessary. Do not let the mixture come to a boil as the milk may curdle a bit.

Preheat skillet or griddle over medium heat. Butter each slice of bread on one side and lay each slice in the skillet butter side down. Sprinkle cheese evenly over the tops of each bread and cover skillet (use a larger, mismatched lid here if need be). Let bread brown on the bottle while the cheese melts, but check after 2 or 3 minutes to ensure bread is not burning. Once cheese is melted and bread is toasted, remove from skillet. Serve soup with a swirl of crème fraiche if desired and cheese toasts on the side.

The Marriage of Fig’n’sourdough

2009-02-10T13:41:00.006-06:00

So sorry, I do have opera and bread on the brain. Shane and I watched Carmen Jones over the last weekend, and since then, I have had the original version of “Dats Love” (“Habanera” or sometimes known as “L'amour est un oiseau rebelle que nul ne peut apprivoiser”) in my head all week. As for my marriage of fig(s) and sourdough, I know I have previously written on this subject; however, I do not recall the previous resulting marriage to be so harmonious. As I was piddling around the kitchen Sunday morning, before Shane and I took advantage of the sunshine and above-freezing temperatures, I had that “throw-something-extra-into-the-bread-dough-I’m-kneading” epiphany that either results in a shoulder-shrug “eh” or a “WOW!” Thank goodness for my fragile bread-making ego that my current epiphany resulted in a “WOW!” or else I would have been bummed at wasting 10 delicious figs and the wine in which I soaked the jammy fruit.

The loaf was small, but then with such a big taste from the figs, there is no need for more – classify this bread as “less is truly more.” With no added sugar besides what occurs naturally in the figs and the soaking wine, this bread would do justice to cheeses, nut butters, and even the well-made lamb sandwich (aged goat cheese, mild mustard, a dab of mayonnaise, a hint of arugula). And this morning, around 10:30, several hours after a hearty breakfast porridge, my stomach called for something sweet and savory and lasting (until a 12:15ish lunch hour). Ah, luckily I had with me a few thin slices of fig bread drizzled with hazelnut oil and sandwiching a few slices of aged goat cheese. Paired with a cup of tea, it has served its nourishing purpose.

Any dried fig will work in this recipe; however, the drier the fig, the longer they will need to be soaked in wine. I used Turkish figs which were pretty soft on their own. If using Black Mission Figs which tend to be a bit on the drier side, the soaking time will need to be doubled.

The Marriage of Fig and Sour Dough Bread

Makes 1 small loaf

Scant ¼ cup bubbly sour dough starter
¾ cup whole wheat flour
1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
1 cup water plus more as needed
Scant teaspoon salt
10 large dried figs
1 cup robust red wine

Combine figs and wine in a microwave-safe bowl and gently warm in the microwave for a minute or two. Alternatively, combine figs and wine in a small saucepan and bring to a slight simmer over medium heat. Once figs and wine are warm, remove from microwave or stove, cover, and let sit for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, Combine starter, flours, water and salt in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer with a kneading hook. Either by hand or with the mixer, knead dough until it is smooth, elastic, and comes off clean when poked with a finger. While kneading, add more water if necessary to ensure the dough is not too dry. By hand this may take about 15 minutes. In my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, I knead it with the dough hook, speed on 2 power (never more than 2 power) for about 10 minutes. Dough should clear the edges of the bowl but stick just a touch to the bottom. Stop and scrape down the hook attachment a time or two as the bread is being kneaded. Once dough is kneaded, shape into a ball, place in an oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Remove figs from the wine, and save the wine for another use (or just drink it). Roughly chop figs removing any hard stems. After the dough has sat for 30 minutes, knead figs into the dough until the figs are well incorporated. Shape dough into a loaf, boule, or baguette. For my little loaf I used a small round rising basket well dusted with flour. Cover dough with well-oiled plastic wrap and let dough rise until doubled, about 6 -7 hours. When dough has about reached its peak, preheat oven to a toasty 450 degrees. If you have baking stone, now is the time to use it. Ensure it’s in its proper place. Fill an oven-proof pot with hot tap water and carefully slide the pot onto the bottom rack of the oven. Onto a peel of some sort, dump loaf out of rising basket if using. Slash loaf with a serrated knife or razor blade (again, carefully), slide loaf into the oven and set the timer for 20 minutes. Check loaf – is it browning nicely? Is it burning? Okay, good – now let it go another 10 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Alternatively, pop an instant-read thermometer into its underside and when it reads 190 degrees or so, the bread is done. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cooling rack for an hour or so before ripping into it.

Ain't No Sunshine When They'll Go Away

2009-02-09T22:21:00.005-06:00

I have been creating my own trend wagon lately and, proverbially speaking, I jump on as often as my budget allows. Once I find an in-season, special ingredient, I use it to its fullest capabilities until the novelty is spent. After a summer of using lavender-infused crème fraîche in everything from white cake to cream sauce for chicken, my first Emilie trend of the late fall and early winter season were chestnuts. I still have a bag of shelled chestnuts in my freezer awaiting pastas and soups and roasting. However, the chestnuts were barely frozen as I discovered the buttery and subtle-onion flavor of leek greens. I have not shied away from using the full leek in potato leek soup or even in my chestnut soup as a replacement for onion (hey, using two trends in one pot – bonus points!).

Meyer Lemons, my darlings of the late winter season are a hybrid of a lemon and an orange. With all the zip of a lemon but with a subtly sweet and almost thyme-like finish, I do not shy away from thinly slicing, peel and all, and layering on toasted country bread smeared with fresh goat cheese. A sprinkling of brown sugar finishes a nice late morning snack. These sunshiny bad boys dare me to throw them in everything from the mild (morning tea) to the wild (sautéing slices, peel still attached, with slices of garlic and brine-cured olives). Just yesterday I found myself lamenting leaving Meyer Lemon season behind and, gulp, facing baby greens and strawberry season of late spring.

Oh but for once in my life I am cringing at the snow’s melting (last of the winter’s snow sports) and leaving behind what was once, in my imagination, a dull fruit season – and now that I have discovered my sunny beauties of the winter, I regret not appreciating what I have available at the time as opposed to longing for what will soon come. And much to Shane’s chagrin, yes, I am picking up another bag or two at Jewel tonight. Much like fig season, I dare buy until I no longer can.

I have been a little obsessed with this relish, making a big batch and throwing it on everything from olive oil-drizzled chick pea puree to pizza to French lentil salad. My favorite thus far has been the pizza with its tangy olives, mild garlic and creamy goat cheese flavors rounding out the wake-up call of the lemons.

Zippy Meyer Lemon Relish

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Meyer lemons, thinly sliced and seeds removed
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
6 Brine-cured green olives, sliced

Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the lemon slices, garlic and olives. Cook for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally until the rinds begin to soften. Stir frequently to make sure the garlic does not brown.

Meyer Lemon Pizza

1 lb pizza dough
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 sprigs thyme, chopped
Zest of one lemon

Olive oil
Meyer Lemon Relish
4 oz Goat cheese cut into ¼ inch rounds
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.

Roll out pizza dough as thin as desired. Drizzle the dough with olive oil, salt, the crushed garlic, lemon zest, and thyme. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, and spread the lemon relish topping evenly over the dough. Scatter goat cheese evenly over the top of the relish. Bake for 10 minutes more or until cheese is lightly browned. Remove and let cool and settle for about 5 minutes before serving.

A Tropical Reprieve

2009-02-02T08:57:00.006-06:00

Upon waking this morning with a touch of jaw pain and more annoyance at the glue that is stabilising my gums, I did feel as if a 1,000 pound concrete block was pinning me to my mattress. I had zero energy to lift my head let alone my hand as I painstakingly dialed my supervisor's direct line and left her a mumble-message that I am taking one more day off to recuperate. What can I say? I have learned to pamper myself a bit when I am down and out and no kind of food seems appealing to me. And I know I am not well when absolutely no kind of food seems appealing to me. If someone were to offer me a plate of freshly roasted figs aside a slice of buttered country bread and assorted cheeses, I would wrinkle my nose, grab my icepack, and roll to face the opposite wall -- la la la I'm not hearing you, I'm not seeing you [figs]. And if anyone were to ever witness this scene, call an ambulance or the funny farm fast, as there is something seriously the matter with me.

However, as you can see, I mustered all my good strength this morning to put a bite of something in my belly, and it turned out to be so delightfully nourishing, I just had to share it with all my faithful readers. Last night, on a whim, I put a pot of brown Basmati Rice on the stove to simmer in a few cups of light coconut milk and a touch of water to make up for the rest of the liquid. This morning I scooped out 1/4 of the coconut rice, mixed it with a bit of plain yogurt, topped it with a perfectly ripened banana that I had sliced into mouth-friendly rounds before drizzling the entire dish with maple syrup. The hint of coconut that met the ripe banana that met the touch of syrup and tangy yogurt -- okay, this was worth my rising from bed this morning.

I chose brown rice for its healthy reputation and for more of a hearty punch to my morning. If you've never tried brown rice or if you have tried brown rice and you cannot get used to the texture, this is a great recipe to try, try again. And brown Basmati Rice just has an extra special flavor that really jells well with the coconut milk. If you can find brown Basmati Rice in your local grocery, it is worth the few cents more.

Coconut Rice with Yogurt, Bananas and Maple Syrup
Makes 4 servings

Prepare the rice:
1 cup Brown Basmati Rice (or regular brown rice)
1 14 oz can coconut milk, light or regular
1/2 cup water (I "rinsed" the coconut milk can with water to get the dregs of the coconut milk)
Dash of salt

In a medium sauce pan, heat the coconut milk and water until simmering. Watch to make sure the coconut milk does not foam and overflow. Add the salt and brown rice, reduce heat, cover pot with a tight-fitting lid and simmer until rice absorbs the liquid, about 45 minutes. Check after 30 minutes or so to make sure there is still enough liquid in the pot and to ensure the rice is not sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. Once rice is smooth and creamy and has absorbed all the liquid, remove from heat, let cool a bit, and either refrigerate overnight for breakfast the next morning, or doctor the rice for a nice change to both rice pudding and rice cereals.

For 4 breakfast servings:
All of the coconut rice, cooled or chilled in the fridge
2 cups plain yogurt, more or less depending on how thin you want the rice
3-4 bananas, sliced
Maple syrup to drizzle

Combine the rice and yogurt, top with bananas and drizzle with maple syrup. You can't make it difficult. Try other fruits, dried or fresh -- maybe grated apple, sliced dried figs or dates, use brown sugar in place of the maple syrup. Try some crushed and toasted walnuts or hazelnuts for added crunch and texture. I may try the nuts someday when I can actually indulge in crunchy tidbits. Heck, maybe you want to make the coconut rice, skip the yogurt, add a touch of milk at the end of cooking time, and make it a hot cereal. Really, my feelings will not be hurt if other variations are preferred -- my promise.

Easy Split Peasy -- Soup That Is

2009-02-01T10:38:00.007-06:00

Even when I have full use of my jaw, gums, and posterior teeth, I often enjoy a thick soup of split yellow or green peas dressed with sautéed bacon, onions, celery, and carrots. A few fresh-frozen baby peas are added towards the end for an extra-pea taste before the entire concoction is blended to deliciousness.

As I usually throw a slice or two of toasted sourdough bread on the side, last night Shane received his customary slice, golden brown and awaiting the butter knife. However, anything that requires much jaw movement is still quite daunting to me. I settled for buttering my slice of toasted bread before using the bread to line the bottom of my soup bowl. From there I ladled warm soup over the toast and allowed the slightly tangy and buttery bread to soak up the soup. I dare say, I could eat split pea soup in this style even when my mandibles are back up to speed.

Easy Split Pea(sy) Soup

Makes 6-8 servings

1 lb yellow or green split peas
4-6 thick slices of bacon, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 10 ounce bag of frozen baby peas (do not thaw)

Rinse split peas and set them aside. Over medium heat, in a large, heavy pot, sauté bacon until crispy and some grease renders from the bacon. Remove bacon and set aside. If there is not at least 2 tablespoons of grease left in the pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil and gently warm it in the pan. Add the onions, carrots and celery and sauté until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently.

Add the rinsed split peas. Add cold water to cover the peas, increase heat, and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer, cover pot, and gently simmer soup until split peas are starting to soften, about 35-40 minutes. Add frozen baby peas, bring soup back to a simmer, and cook another 5 minutes or until both the baby peas and the split peas are tender.

Let soup cool for a bit before transferring it, in batches, to a blender. Carefully blend the soup until smooth, holding down the lid with a potholder to avoid a soup volcano. Return soup to pot, add the bacon, and gently reheat. Serve soup with toasted bread sourdough or not.

An Egg Makes it Breakfast

2009-02-01T09:35:00.011-06:00

Mouth surgery round two -- the uppers. Friday morning I once again went under the knife, spit sucker, and ice-cold water pick as my upper gums were "enhanced." I dare say, this surgery feels a little rougher than the one I had on the bottom gums. I am certainly not saying my surgeon was rougher (not one bit), but it feels as if my top teeth and components work harder than my bottom teeth, and therefore it is harder to gum-chew anything that does not qualify as mush or at the very most, soft pasta and soggy bread. So here I go again on a my culinary adventure on what one can eat when one cannot chew (very well).

Admittedly, I am not only willing, I do eat "non-breakfast" food on occasion, especially if I have too many leftovers and not enough lunch days to consume them. This past week I unexpectedly had more food than allotted slots for leftovers, and so, upon awakening this morning, slightly sore gums and a stiff jaw prevailing, I thought why the heck not? eat the leftover bean and bacon pasta sauce over Pappardelle, one of my favorite Italian egg-enriched pastas. Oh but I did not stop at just bacon and bean sauce over Pappardelle, a few shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano and a lightly poached egg perched atop the meal enhanced the silky delicateness of the pasta strands. As I sit here and reminisce about the full flavor of the Good Mother Stallard Beans, the smoky bacon, the pungent cheese, and the richness of the egg yolks, I do not believe I will need to eat again until, maybe, midnight tonight. I am stuffed.

Pappardelle al sugo di fagioli rossi (Pappardelle with Bean, Bacon and Cheese Sauce, and, ahem, Leftovers with a Poached Egg or Two)

Makes 5-6 hearty servings

1/2 pound red beans such as Kidney or Cranberry beans (I actually used the last 1/2 pound of my Good Mother Stallard Beans from Rancho Gordo) Soaked about 6 hours
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 small garlic clove, crushed and chopped
A sprig of rosemary or a few fresh sage leaves
2 tsp salt
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 good sized pieces of bacon, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed and then finely chopped
A few fresh sage leaves or a small sprig of fresh rosemary
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 lb Pappardelle, Tagliatelle, or Fettuccine
Parmigiano Reggiano to serve

Over medium heat, warm one tablespoon olive oil in a fairly large heavy pan with a lid that fits tightly. Sauté the small onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir frequently. Add garlic, stir about a minute until it releases its fragrance, and add the herbs, 2 teaspoons of salt and the soaked beans along with their soaking water. If beans are not covered in water, add water to cover, bring mixture to a simmer, and simmer until the beans are just done but not falling apart or mushy, maybe an hour or so depending on the age of the beans. Remove beans from the heat. From here you can store the beans in the fridge for a few days or freeze them for a few months. But you are hungry for pasta sauce, right? So you do not have to stop here, though if it is late and you have already eaten, you can finish this tomorrow or sometime in your lifetime, as this is such a nice, hearty sauce that helps bring the chilly winter to a hopefully swift close.

On to the sauce. Take the beans whether freshly cooked or from the fridge. Mash the beans coarsely with a potato masher or blend about 2/3 of them in a blender. Stir the blended beans back into the whole beans. Set aside.

Over medium heat, warm the two tablespoons of olive oil in a medium pan. This is about the medium, because it takes medium to create art, ha! Add the chopped medium onion (more medium for art) and diced bacon, and cook until onion is softened and bacon is crispy and releasing oil, about 8 minutes but stir a lot. If at the end of the sautéing time there is way too much oil in the pan, just carefully pour a bit out, preferably into a cup or something because I am not sure that hot bacon grease and olive oil will be great for the sink pipes. Add the garlic, push it around for a minute, and add the herbs and the beans, bring to a simmer, let thicken a bit, and stir very, very frequently as the pureed beans tend to stick to the bottom of the pan. Do not let the beans scorch. Check the seasonings and add salt and pepper to the bean sauce as is thickens. Be careful not to add too much salt at the beginning as it will concentrate as the sauce simmers down a tad. As the beans are simmering, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain pasta reserving some of the pasta liquid, like maybe in a Pyrex measuring cup or bowl. In a separate bowl, toss the pasta with the bean mixture. If it appears a tad dry, add a bit of the pasta water to the pasta. Add a generous grating of Parmigiano Reggiano, serve on plates or in bowls.

Leftover sauce? Per person, bring a medium pan of generously salted water to a boil. Poach an egg or two for about 3 to 4 minutes, lift out egg, and drain on paper towels. Do not toss out the egg water quite yet. Bring the water back to a boil, simmer a fresh batch of pasta until al dente, drain water, reserving a bit of the water, and keep the pasta in the pan. Add the leftover sauce to the pasta, add water as needed to thin the sauce, and heat over medium heat. Once heated, transfer pasta to a bowl, add a generous grating of Parmigiano Reggiano, and slip the eggs on top. Mangia! Indeed it can be breakfast!

Rich Garlic Soup - the Re-discovery

2009-01-17T22:52:00.007-06:00

Return of the garlic soup, and yes, I know we covered this in Garlic Soup 101, but I want to re-discover this topic with a bit cheaper twist. And not to get completely off topic, but if I were a teacher, instead of telling my students we are going over a topic previously studied because the first time around it somehow did not penetrate their prone-to-wander minds and this time I will do everything in my power to shove the topic into their ears, eyes, nostrils, and, if necessary, down their throats -- oh no, I shall take a different route and simply tell them we are re-discovering this very topic whether the topic is on the history of Spain or simply the Pythagorean theorem of which goodness knows I take one look at the word Pythagorean and expect to see an ingredient list following and hoping both Feta cheese and mint are listed.

Oh yes, garlic soup rediscovered. A weekly habit of mine has me tuning into the New York Times' Recipes for Health for inspiration and a plain, swift kick in the pants to start incorporating more of those essential yet tasty antioxidants into my diet. And yes, garlic is a stinky, tasty, absolute for a healthy diet. This afternoon, after having walked 4.5 miles in 20 degree weather, over slippery mounds of snow, barefoot, carrying gigantic pails of water. . . oh wait, the last two statements belong to those great-grandfatherly types who were around before both shoes and indoor plumbing were readily accessible. Anyhow, after being outside for a decent chunk of time, one needs a bit of a swift kick in the taste buds, and even better that the swift kick is both nutritious and cheap to make.

Cheap is my inspiration. I love chicken stock-based garlic soup. But I want to come clean -- I am very selfish with my home made chicken stock, as it's not the cheapest stock make and keep around -- I do not always have some on hand, and I like to save what I have for very special recipes. I am not that saying garlic is humble -- far from it. Garlic is just so pungent on its own that it needs no stinkin' chicken stock to help boost its stinkin' flavor (stinkin' used facetiously -- in both cases).

I've adapted the original recipe, published on December 1, 2008 in the Fitness and Nutrition Section of the New York Times. And to further cover my non-plagiarizing bottom, the linked article and recipe shall be created to one Martha Rose Shulman to whom I say "Kudos for a delicious and cheap eat that creates a wonderful background for some warm embellishment."

Rich Garlic Soup with Poached Eggs
Soup serves 1
Broth serves a lot more than 1, but the rest can be frozen for later use:

For the broth:
2 heads of garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cinnamon sticks or a few dashes of ground cinnamon
Generous pinch of saffron
1handful each of fresh thyme and parsley and a few sage leaves tied together with kitchen twine or wrapped and tied in cheesecloth
1 bay leaf
2 quarts of water

Fun task number one: Remove each clove of garlic from the heads, remove skins, and squash each clove slightly. Now this is how I remove the skins, and while it is a tad tedious, and though it is supposedly easier to blanch the garlic, well, today I was not in any hurry. However, you are a busy person or if you do not allow yourself to day dream during mundane tasks, here is how the original recipe recommends slipping off the garlic skins which I am sure proves faster than my fart-brained way: Bring a medium saucepan full of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice and water. Separate the head of garlic into cloves and drop them into the boiling water. Blanch for 30 seconds, then transfer to the ice water. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then drain and remove the skins from the garlic cloves. They should be loose and easy to remove. Lightly crush the cloves by pressing on them with the flat side of a chef’s knife.

One way or the other, we now have naked cloves of garlic. Over medium heat, warm the olive oil in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed stock pot. Add the garlic, push them around a bit with a spoon, do not let them brown or, heaven forbid, blacken, and after a minute, add the cinnamon and saffron. With a spoon, push this mixture around for a minute or so before adding the water, bay leaf, and herb bundle. Bring to a slow boil, lower heat, cover, and simmer mixture for an hour. Strain mixture discarding bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, and herb bundle. Salvage the garlic cloves and they still have a fantastic buttery taste and texture. Salt the broth to taste as you notice the lovely yellow-green hue of the broth. Take a whiff -- potent eh?

All righty, time to move on to Rich Garlic Soup.
Serves 1, as I mentioned up there:

1 thick slice of sourdough or country bread, torn into small pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
About 4 or 5 ladles of garlic broth
2 eggs
Salt and pepper to taste

Over medium heat, warm olive oil in a small, heavy-bottom pot. Add the bread crumbs and stir into the oil. Stirring frequently, allow the breadcrumbs to brown a bit before adding the garlic broth. Bring mixture to a slow simmer and slip the eggs into the soup. Poach eggs until whites are set but yolks are still runny, about 4 minutes without the lid covering the pot. Once eggs are poached, spoon soup into a bowl, salt and pepper to taste, and warm up, it's deserved!

Hot Chocolate Explosion

2009-01-15T15:31:00.003-06:00

That's what I'm going to name my punk-rock band - Hot Chocolate Explosion.

This is just today's food blunder -- my microwave-warmed hot chocolate bubbling all its rich goodness onto the plate of the office microwave. I salvaged enough to satisfy my chocolate-craving taste buds, but I may have to make another batch for tomorrow, whereas upon heating I will pay more attention.

Hot Chocolate (no explosion):
For 1 serving

1 1/3 cups milk, skim to whole (cream if no one is looking)
1 tablespoon cocoa powder (I just used Hershey's Dark, nothing fancy)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Sugar or Honey to taste (I like the wang of honey in my hot chocolate)
Scrapings of a vanilla bean or a dash of vanilla, optional
Dash of cinnamon or nutmeg, optional

Whisk cocoa powder and cornstarch together in a saucepan. Add milk, whisking the entire time, and bring mixture to a simmer. Let simmer, whisking periodically, for about 3 minutes or until a touch thickened. Add sugar or honey to taste and embellish optional vanilla and optional dash of cinnamon or nutmeg. Pour into a mug and enjoy!

Northern Italy's Answer to Southern American Grits - It's a North/South Thing

2009-01-08T14:46:00.008-06:00

Why call them grits? Dressed with garlicky greens and cheese, nestled under thick stews, eaten plain with a pat of butter and a grating of Parmigiano-Reggiano, polenta has a sexy appeal as an alternative to rice, potatoes, pasta, and my beloved starch, bread. Leftover polenta can be chilled overnight before being sliced and grilled, baked, fried, or broiled, whatever is to your liking that day.

Soft polenta has been my "it" food for the past few weeks, and my brain is just befuddled by all the combinations of lightly cooked vegetables, sauces, meats and seasonings that can turn a simple grain into a hearty and flavorful meal.

And might I add, polenta is also known as coarse cornmeal (or medium-coarse). I substitute either regularly for polenta, so if you cannot find a box or sack of polenta at your local grocer's, try looking for coarse or medium-coarse cornmeal. It cooks up the same.

To make polenta is not as daunting as some recipes will have one believe. In fact, after the first few minutes of stirring, I simply leave the polenta bubbling on the stove while I tend to other tasks. I of course give it a stir every few minutes, but I am not glued to the stove with my arm in constant motion praying for lump-free polenta. So dish up a bit of polenta. Figure roughly 1/2 cup of raw polenta per person and triple the amount of liquid per total measurement of raw polenta. Okay, I am making this more complicated and I see you are about to run screaming from the mere words of boiling, water, and polenta. Don't -- I'll break it down for you in recipe form:

Let's say for 2 ravenous people since that is my norm:

1 cup polenta (or coarse cornmeal)
3 cups water, stock, milk, or a combination of two or all
1/2 teaspoon salt (more if cheese will not be used)
1/2 cup or so grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, Pecorino, Fontina, etc.
Pat of butter
Freshly ground black pepper

Bring the liquid and salt to a boil over medium heat. If you're using part or all milk, watch that it does not foam and run over the side of the pan. Whisk in the polenta by adding the polenta in a slow and steady stream to the boiling liquid. Lower the heat to a simmer and continue to whisk for another few minutes. From here you can leave the polenta to simmer itself soft, but do give it a stir every few minutes so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Polenta will take up to 30 minutes to soften and absorb the liquid, but start checking it around the 20 minute mark. Taste a bite. Just stick your spoon in the pot. You are the cook, and you have to taste test. Once the polenta is soft enough, embellish it with cheese, pepper, butter, and finally, salt if it needs more. Remember that a lot of cheeses are salty, and likely you will be topping the polenta with a seasoned topping, so do not go nutty with the salt shaker. Pour polenta into serving dish and top with desired sauce, vegetables, or heck, just eat it as it straight from the pot as you will likely find me doing.

A few good toppings:

Soak a handful of dried mushrooms in white wine for an hour or so, drain, reserve liquid and chop
or
Clean and chop about a 1/2 pound mushrooms, wild, cultivated or a combination
1 or 2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, squashed and then chopped
1 big bunch of kale or Swiss chard or other winter green, chopped
1/4 cup white wine or the reserved wine used to soak the mushrooms

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Sauté mushrooms and garlic until mushrooms give up some juice. Add greens in bunches until they wilt a bit. Once all the greens are added, pour in the wine, bring to a simmer, and let mixture bubble a bit until the wine is almost evaporated and the greens are wilted and still a beautiful bright green, a few minutes. Top freshly made polenta with mixture. If using cheese in the polenta, Fontina is tops with a mushroom and kale combination.

Beans or bean stew is another hearty topping with polenta replacing the rice or potatoes. Adapting a recipe from Mark Bittman's Bitten Blog, last night I whipped up bean stew from my last package of Rancho Gordo's Good Mother Stallard Beans.

What Suzanne Had For Dinner

Published in Mark Bittman's Blog, Bitten, New York Times, on May 20, 2008, 12:55 pm

Good Mother Stallard Bean Stew
Yield 2 to 4 servings
Time At least 2 hours

Recipe by Suzanne Lenzer

Ingredients
1/2 pound Good Mother Stallard (or other good dried beans)
2 1/4- inch slices of pancetta, diced (Emilie used smoked bacon)
1 diced carrot
1 diced onion
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary (Emilie used fresh sage)
A few handfuls of arugula, or another tender green
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Cook the beans until tender, about 2 hours. Check them frequently -- they absorb liquid more quickly than most dried beans.

2. Sauté the pancetta (bacon) in a bit of olive oil until just golden. Add the diced onions and carrots and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the rosemary (sage).

3. Add the beans and about a quarter cup of their liquid. You can add more depending on how thick a stew you want. When the mixture is heated through, add the arugula and continue cooking until it’s wilted. Adjust the liquid to your taste, season with salt and pepper and serve.

I served this over soft polenta, and it was quite a hit with Shane. Leftover stew rested in the fridge overnight, and the stew's taste intensified. A good thing last night was even better for today's lunchtime leftovers.

Little Em Travels to Big M

2009-01-06T13:58:00.008-06:00

Oh loyal fans how you must have thought I poisoned myself with the chestnut soup that has been the feature recipe for almost two months on I Fagioli. Alas, I am alive and well, I am still enjoying the soup (not the same batch, of course), and the holidays proved to be busier than I ever imagined. And what does one do after a busy season, one takes a vacation as Shane and I did from December 26 to January 3 of this New Year.

Manistee, Michigan was our destination – from thin, tall buildings with their fire escapes to thin, tall trees with their branches broken in their imitation of rungs of a ladder. I bought snow shoes and trekked into the quiet woods that were only disturbed by rushes of wind that made me close my eyes and imagine the EL was still so near and to my delight, upon opening my eyes instead hills of snow sporting the tracks of tiny birds and the impressions of shy dear greeted my greedy urban eyes. For the first time in a mere eleven years, Shane hopped onto a pair of cross-country skis before tackling the groomed tracks and hills of the Big M National Forrest.

Many hours of sweat, tears, (in my case and only occasionally) and cold air make a gal and her husband think about nothing but food – lumberjack-worthy food of beans and grilled cheese sandwiches, sizzling spicy chili and Cokes. Yes, Emilie who hasn’t had a pop in years suddenly yearned for a Diet Coke after a three hour snow hike. What better to wash down the chipotle-laced beefy chili and smooth grilled cheese sandwich than sweet fizz?

We had many a momentous occasion. Our daily habit of napping after lunch was rudely interrupted one afternoon by a mouse’s scampering across the hook rug. Actually it was more his getting his claws caught in the rug than a scamper, and his struggle is what awakened Shane to wake me up to ask “What is that?” and for me to reply “uhdon’tknow.” We never saw the mouse as it was too dark in the cabin and to turn on a lamp meant walking across the floor risking stepping on the phantom creature. After a few noises that resembled giant constrictors swinging from Amazon trees, Shane managed to scare the mouse far enough away for us to comfortably turn on a light and never actually see it. However, the next morning we did see in the snow animal prints that we deduced were made by the phantom mouse.

Monday afternoon Shane and I were kidnapped by Deb and Sandy, and taken not completely against our will, to Debie’s cottage where we were force fed ribs and had numerous glasses of wine poured down our throats. At one point Deb did hold a gun to me (although she kept the gun, which, suspiciously, had the shape of a diamond ring around the barrel, in her pocket) and shouted “BAKE woman, BAKE!” It shook me so, the resulting walnut cookies were a little crispier on the bottom than I like and the freshly baked beer bread was whisked away too fast by Shane and me as we fled the warm and cozy torture causing the texture of the bread to be a bit soggy. Darn those tormentors that loaded us with locally made peanut butter, extra bottles of wine, amazingly aged cheddar cheese and a Bloody Mary mix that empties the vodka bottle a tad faster than usual.

Heavens to Betsy as we crossed our fingers upon backing from the drive every morning – as its steep slope gave way to slush, ice, snow, slush and snow, our Camry had to work even harder than the norm to shuttle us safely over the driveway line and onto Madison Road, which was fortunate to not a be busy road. And I mustn’t forget our cozy evenings of Scrabble games, roasted peanuts and whisky. Shane, the Peanut Roaster, taught me how to roast raw peanuts, still in their shells, and we both learned how to roast peanuts without an oven (the Peanut Roaster’s usual roasting instrument). On an electric cook top, roast the raw peanuts, still in their shells, in a large, deep pot on the lower side of medium-low setting (around the 3 mark) stirring and shaking often so the peanuts brown evenly before blackening to an un-edible state. When peanuts are to a desired roast, pour into a large bowl and allow to cool a bit. Peanuts will still crisp as they cool. Serve with extra bowls for the shells and a few shots of whiskey. The whiskey is especially important if achieving a high score in Scrabble is desired. Just yourself and your opponent a shot or two and just slowly sip as your opponent chugs and falls prey to meager words such as “hen,” “take,” and “zip” (none of which land upon premium squares although “zip” will bring in as little as 14 ferocious points).

Saturday dawned a crisp, sunny day with highs peaking around 34 degrees – our warmest day and sadly, our last day of snow-sporting and complete resting. I served Shane a home-style breakfast of one thick slice of bacon, two fried eggs, buttered and grilled bread and piping hot coffee boiled on the stove as the coffee pot had a crack in the bottom. As for me, I finished the beer bread by grilling it on the stove and slapping each slice with almond butter and sliced bananas. A hearty meal in each of our bellies sent us to play in the snow one more time before heading back to Chicago.

Our travels home were uneventful as we delightedly recapped our week. I confessed that I’d most miss the excuse to down rich grilled cheese sandwiches, Cokes and chili, as I won’t be burning that many calories here in the city, even after hitting the gym on a frequent basis. Shane, well, he should have been born with skis attached to each foot as much as he loves the sport. He was sorry to leave such great skiing conditions, but as we approached the tall, tall buildings of home and with the background of sirens ringing in our ears, we agreed it would not take much to travel back to Michigan over the upcoming winter weekends. That made me happy.

Oh yes, and so this is a food blog, and I do like to share my creations with the egotistical hope that one of my readers will actually try one of my recipes, even if it’s only a simple salad dressing recipe. One of the dishes I made ahead and brought with us to the cabin is a wonder Italian bean stew thickened with bread. I will also share a recipe of the meal I made the day after our return, a hearty yet light mushroom risotto made with barley instead of Arborio rice. Enjoy!

Ribolitta
Meaning “reboiled” or “re-cooked” in Italian, Ribolitta is best served the next day as the flavors will mingle with one another as the pot sits in the fridge overnight.

Makes 6-8 hearty servings

Adapted from Italian Food About.com

1 pound dried white beans, washed and soaked for three hours (I used Rancho Gordo’s Yellow Eye Beans)
A small onion, a small carrot, a six inch stick of celery, and a small bunch of parsley, minced together
¼ cup olive oil plus more to serve
1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
1 big bunch of Swiss chard, chopped, stems and all
½ pound potatoes, diced
Salt, pepper, and a sprig of thyme
Thinly sliced day old Italian or French white bread, tough crusts removed

Add about 1 tablespoon water to the soaked beans (it does not toughen them, scout’s honor) and simmer in their soaking water until the beans are starting to soften.

When beans are nearing this stage, in a large, heavy pot, sauté the onion mixture in the oil. As the onion softens, add the tomato paste and let it caramelize for about 2 minutes stirring often. Add the Swiss chard and the potatoes and stir until Swiss chard is wilted. Stir in the beans and their liquid, and season to taste with salt, pepper, and a sprig of thyme. Simmer soup until the potatoes are cooked, and remove the thyme. If serving the next day, remove soup from heat and allow to cool before refrigerating overnight.

When ready to serve the soup, start with a clean, large pot (yes, this means you may have to dirty another dish) and ladle soup to cover the bottom. Line this layer with about 2-4 slices of bread (depending on their size), ladle more soup over this layer and repeat until all the bread and soup are used. Bring soup to a simmer, cover pot, and let the bread absorb the liquid from the beans. Uncovering the pot and stirring quite often is necessary as the bread may stick to the bottom of the pot. As the bread breaks down, the soup will thicken. Give the soup a good 20 minutes or so to thicken. Serve soup garnished with a drizzle of olive oil and a grinding of black pepper.

Hearty Mushroom Barley Risotto

Makes 3 servings

Give yourself an hour or so to soak the mushrooms. You can even do it overnight in the fridge.

6 or so dried Shitake Mushrooms
½ cup dry white wine
3 medium shallots, diced
2 tablespoons butter
½ pound Crimini Mushrooms (or any other wild mushrooms you come across at the grocery store), chopped
¾ cup pearl barley
2 cups water
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano plus more to sprinkle
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Soak the dried mushrooms in the wine. Set aside for an hour or two or soak overnight in the fridge.

Once dried mushrooms are no longer dry, remove them from the wine and reserve the liquid. Chop mushrooms and set aside. Over moderate heat, warm the butter in a medium-sized pot. Sauté the shallots until they’re soften, stirring often. Add all the mushrooms and sauté until they’re soft and start giving up their liquid, about 5 minutes. Add the barley and the reserved soaking wine. Stir barley until it absorbs both the wine and the flavors of the shallots and mushrooms. Stir in water, cover pot, and allow barley to simmer until it absorbs the water, about 30 minutes. Do uncover the pot and stir the barely, especially the more it absorbs the water. When barley is soft yet chewy, add the Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt and ground pepper. Adjust seasonings and serve the risotto with a bit more Parmigiano-Reggiano sprinkled over the top.

I served this with a crisp Romaine salad dressed with a lemony and garlicky dressing:

Several head of Romaine lettuce, rinsed and dried well
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 fat garlic clove, green germ removed, minced
¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and Parmigiano-Reggiano in a medium bowl. Salt and pepper to taste. Chop the lettuce, add to the dressing and toss until the dressing is well incorporated. A little more freshly ground pepper on top is a welcome addition.

Simplicity of the Chestnut (Soup)

2008-11-19T16:37:00.015-06:00

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that shelling a blanched (or roasted) chestnut is not the easiest task, but in my experience, it is well worth the effort. Roasted chestnuts have only just made their way into the Chicago branch of the Tytenicz family, and thus far, I am the only Tytenicz Chicagoan who consumes chestnuts with gusto rather than with disdain and reluctance. Unlike a walnut or hazelnut, cooked chestnuts are starchy, sweet, and somewhere between soft and crumbly/crunchy. While I love to nibble on chestnuts straight from roasting or blanching, I equally love to throw them into pasta, pairing their sweetness with smoky bacon. And soup! There are only a million and one chestnut soup recipes to be found, most listing chicken stock or rich vegetable stock as an ingredient -- much too fussy for me. The more I learn about cooking, the less I want to depend on any kind of pre-fab stock or broth to boost a bowl of soup. There are places for strongly-flavored chicken stock -- chicken and lime soup; garlic soup; creamy chicken and rice soup. . . So many soup recipes recommend tossing one kind of stock or another (chicken being the most popular) into vegetable-based soups. I adapted to this norm until out of laziness and some sort of defiance, I decided not to rely on a bag of frozen chicken broth. And my sheer snobbishness has trained my palate to abhor chicken broth in its canned form.

After almost a year of writing about food and into my second year of cooking for someone besides me, after seeing the glee on Shane's face when he eats something so simple rather than little fussy vittles that required a plethora of ingredients and three pans of three different sizes, slowly I am re-educating myself to understand food in its simplest form. Perfectly cooked chestnuts, potatoes, carrots, onions, and a touch of celery blended into a velvety smooth potage and served with good quality country bread that has been toasted and buttered -- really, it does not take much to produce quality of flavor. And oh goodness, it fits the bill of simplicity. Let the vegetables speak for themselves, and leave the chicken stock to the chickens.

As for the extra liquid this soup may produce, I call it vegetable broth and freeze it. Admittedly I am still in training, so I may need to enhance my carrot soup sometime.

Before preparing the soup, I took the time to blanch raw chestnuts in a pot of boiling water. To blanch, set the chestnuts on a hard surface, flat side down. With a serrated knife, score each chestnut with one or two cuts made into an X. Simmer chestnuts in a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove chestnuts, and while they are still warm (but cooled enough to handle), peel the skins off where the cuts were made. For chestnuts that seem impossible to peel or that still have their skin clinging to the meat, use a sharp knife to just peel that baby off. If this seems daunting, pre-cooked and peeled chestnuts found in some grocery stores and specialty stores will do the trick. If I remember correctly, Whole Foods carries chestnuts in their canned bean aisle. If roasting the chestnuts instead of blanching them seems more romantic, About.com has some handy, dandy suggestions and how-to tips.

Chestnut Soup
Serves 3-4

20 raw chestnuts, blanched (or roasted) and shelled
2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large boiling potato or 3 small ones, peeled and chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 slim stalk of celery, leaves and all, chopped
Salt and pepper
3-6 slices good quality country bread
Butter

Prepare chestnuts as described in the above paragraph. Over medium heat, heat olive oil in a soup pot. Add the shelled chestnuts, potato, carrots and onion. Sauté until onion starts to wilt and the chestnuts brown a bit, about 5 minutes or so. Add celery with its leaves and sauté another minute or so. Salt the mixture and stir to distribute evenly. Add enough water to cover the vegetables by an inch, scraping any bits that cling to the bottom of the pot as the water is added. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and let the soup simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Let mixture cool just a bit (or refrigerate over night), and in a blender, puree the vegetables in their simmering water. Please hold the lid of the blender if the soup is still a little warm as the top may blow from the heat. Blend the soup in batches if necessary. Return soup to the pot, reheat and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste.

Toast slices of bread, slap them with butter, and line the bottom of serving bowls, tearing bread as needed to fit into the bowl. Ladle soup over the bread, drizzle the top with olive oil and serve while still nice and hot.

Any simmering water that is not needed to thin the soup makes a great vegetable broth that can be frozen for later.

A Little Late But. . . Mouth Surgery Recovery Days Four and Five - Too Much Chicken and Not Enough Stock

2008-11-12T21:03:00.021-06:00

Perhaps I promised this write-up too soon. Yesterday (Thursday) the internet connection at the office was completely frazzled, and as I told Steve, one of my attorneys, heavens to Betsy I actually had to work all day. My original plan was to squeeze out an update on two ways to use excess chicken in a mouth-friendly sort of way. And now that we are humming and busy as usual this drizzly and chilly Friday morning, I now have the opportunity to even further update my dedicated readers (all four of you, God love you all) on my healing process.

This morning, after taking one train and three busses (2 of them to absolutely no where) only to arrive 30 minutes late for my post-operation appointment, it makes one curse and appreciate the CTA; however, this morning I do believe I cursed the CTA more than I appreciated it. The wonderful receptionists and assistants and my doctor himself were more than understanding when I arrived a little more jangled than I would have liked. Within 30 minutes, my doctor snipped a few stitches, left the remainder in to dissolve by themselves, and declared that I am healing well and to look forward to my deep cleaning in about three weeks. I hope deep cleaning is something akin to a deep tissue massage complete with warm, moist towels and paraffin wax on my hands.

Doubting that my next deep-cleaning appointment at the periodontist’s will involve cucumber slices donning my eyes oddly enough makes me lament a bit that it is no longer crunchy cucumber and juicy tomato season. Alas, it is now the season of bubbling pots of comfort foods that heat the kitchen and cause me to cook in nothing but a t-shirt and running shorts -- the season of winter vegetables waxing.

Oh, woe is me, this past week as I wanted meals that were substantial, comforting and easy to chew. And sometime this week I mentioned that I was heavy on the chicken scraps and low on the stock. Monday morning, a day I took off from work to complete my recovery, I sacrificed my weak, pathetic self to the cold and slight wind only to purchase yet another whole chicken strictly for the delicious stock it would soon give up to my stock pot. While I am partial to the kosher chicken (read: brined chicken) at Trader Joe’s, a Monday morning stroll of almost a mile did not appeal as Jewel is a five minute trip to the end of my block. While I meandered around Jewel, I picked up a small butternut squash, a few sweet potatoes, two red skinned boiling potatoes, a bunch of carrots still with their tops (they make for such a lovely grocery bag as they poke out the top – so French countryside) and a handful of parsley. Oh yes, I also picked up a whole, natural but not kosher, chicken. And one container of Texas-grown, brown Basmati rice and one can of light coconut milk nudged their way into my cart amongst the produce and poultry. Coconut rice pudding anyone?

Humph, no dessert until after the creamy chicken and rice soup I concocted for Monday evening’s supper. Once I started the brown rice on the back burner, I formed the base of my soup by sautéing a mirepoix of hearty carrots, celery, and onion in about two tablespoons of butter. After the vegetables softened a bit, I added two tablespoons of flour and stirred the mixture for a constant three minutes to allow the flour to lightly brown and take on the flavors of the mirepoix. Once the flour was toasted and things were starting to stick a bit to the bottom of the pan, I added roughly two precious cups of chicken stock, scraping the bits that clung to the pan. And from here, oh, let me just type this in recipe form because I know it will be easier on all eyes.

Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup

I used brown rice because it does have more to offer than white rice. If white rice is used, it will, admittedly, cut back on the cooking time of the meal. For convenience sake, the rice can be cooked ahead, refrigerated, and gently reheated in the soup. If this method is so chosen, skip the first step and proceed to the second paragraph.

Makes 2 main dish servings or 4 side dish servings

1/3 cup (raw) rice, brown or white – Basmati does add more flavor
or about 2/3 – 3/4 cup cooked rice (more or less as you please)
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 large carrot, diced
1 large celery stalk, diced
1 medium (thought I was going to say large, eh?) onion, diced
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups milk – 2% or whole for creamiest texture
8 ounces cooked chicken, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley, chopped

If starting from raw rice, cook rice until al dente, remembering that brown rice will take up to 45 minutes to get to the al dente stage and white rice will take about 15 or 20 minutes. If using already cooked rice, skip this step.

Heat the butter in a medium stock pot. Add carrots, celery and onion, and sauté until onion starts to wilt. Sprinkle the flour and stir constantly for 3 minutes or until flour starts to lightly brown. Slowly pour in the chicken stock taking care to stir enough so that lumps are not created. Bring mixture to a boil, add the cooked rice, cover and lower heat and let simmer until thickened a bit, about 8 minutes. After the 8 minutes or so, turn heat to low. Salt the chopped chicken. Add the chicken and milk to the soup and gently heat so as not to curdle the milk, but to warm the chicken and milk. Salt and pepper to taste, add parsley, and ladle into bowls.

Oh, the butternut squash and sweet potatoes I bought? They both went into a luscious and silky chicken and vegetable cobbler. I suppose you, my darling reader, want a peek at the deliciousness? I suppose I can accommodate, but for heaven’s sake, do not be afraid to make a comment after all my hard work of posting. I post for you, YOU and partially for me. In fact, perhaps I will start commenting on all posts. Mmmm.. yes me, I really enjoyed the soup me, I wish I would make it more often, hmmm?

Chicken and Vegetable Cobbler

Save some time on cooking day and do this in steps. The vegetables can be pre-roasted and refrigerated up to, you know, three or four days. Have some cooked chicken and stock handy. Really, this can be thrown together in about an hour.

Serves 4, unless you are mighty hungry

1 very small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced
1 medium sweet potato, diced (peeling optional)
2 large carrots, cut on the bias, about ½ inch thick
1 large Yukon gold or red-skin potato, diced (peeling optional)
Olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
3 -4 tablespoons butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
3 tablespoons flour, a little more as needed
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine (doesn’t have to overly dry, just steer away from using a Riesling or other super-sweet wine)
8 ounces cooked chicken, chopped and salted
One recipe for biscuits (follows)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss butternut squash, sweet potato, carrots, and while potato with olive oil, salt and pepper. In a large, greased casserole dish or on a greased baking sheet spread the vegetables. Roast vegetables until they just start browning and they’re easily pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes. Check after 20 minutes though. Any vegetables that are cooking faster than others go ahead and remove from the oven and set aside. Once vegetables are finished, remove from the oven into a large casserole dish or Dutch oven and turn the oven to 450 degrees.

Meanwhile, over medium heat the butter in a saucepan. Sauté onion until it wilts, about 5 minutes. Add the mustard and flour, and constantly stir until flour starts to lightly brown, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and wine and scrape any bits that clung to the bottom of the pan. Let mixture come to a boil, lower heat, and let it thicken a bit, stirring frequently. The sauce should not be as thick as gravy, and when it just barely coats the back of a spoon, turn off the heat. The sauce will thicken more when it bakes in the oven. While the sauce thickens, prepare the biscuit dough (recipe will follow).

Add the chicken to the vegetables that are patiently waiting in the casserole dish. Stir to mix things up a bit, and pour over the sauce that was so lovingly made. Stir things up a bit more. Cut biscuit dough and place enough pieces to cover the top of the sauce and vegetables. There will be some area exposed – that is okay. There will be leftover biscuit dough; just pop the remaining cut dough pieces into a ceramic dish (or try a cast iron skillet and let me know how it works) and bake alongside the cobbler. The biscuits will be done in about 7-9 minutes (maybe a smidge longer). Pop the cobbler into the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the biscuits are baked through. Do not be afraid to lift a biscuit to check its doneness. Once baked, remove cobbler from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

And the biscuits:

Yogurt or Buttermilk Biscuits
Courtesy of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

2 cups all-purpose or cake flour, plus more as needed (cake flour makes softer crumb)(I actually used 50% whole wheat for heartier biscuits)
1 scant teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 to 5 tablespoons cold butter (more is better)
7/8 cup yogurt or buttermilk (I used a mixture of sour cream and 2% milk vigorously shaken)

Preheat the oven to 450. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl or food processor. Cut the butter into bits and either pulse it in the food processor (easier) or pick up a bit of the dry ingredients, rub them with the butter between your fingers, and drop them again (I chose the finger-rubbing method). Make sure all the butter is thoroughly blended into the flour mixture before proceeding.Use a large spoon to stir in the yogurt just until the mixture forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it 10 times; no more. If it is very sticky, add a little flour, but very little; it should still stick to your hands a little.Press the dough into a 3/4-inch-thick rectangle and cut into 2-inch rounds with a biscuit cutter or glass. Put the rounds on an un-greased baking sheet. Gently reshape the leftover dough and cut again.

Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until the biscuits are a beautiful golden brown. Serve within 15 minutes for them to be at their best.

Why not serve the remaining biscuits for dessert? Butter and honey are a must.