Roasted Cauliflower

Roasting is an amazing way to transform vegetables. I could never be convinced to eat cauliflower as a kid (it just looked like sad, albino broccoli), but slowly roasting cauliflower turns it into something marvelously delicious. Now, I can't get enough!

Roasted Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower
1 Tbs olive oil
pinch of salt and pepper
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Cut cauliflower into florettes. Place cauliflower in a shallow-lipped baking sheet (I find it helpful to line the pan with aluminum foil for easy clean up). Toss the cauliflower with the olive oil and the salt and pepper. Roast for approximately 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower begins to brown. Remove from oven and add Parm while the cauliflower is still hot. Gently toss to combine. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

Glazed Carrots

Today was the last day of our local farmers market. It's always a bittersweet day, the last day we get to enjoy the 3 block stroll to the market on Saturday mornings, exploring and collecting the best gems and jewels of the locally produced in season foods. It's also a mark of the beginning of the holiday season, and the chance to embrace the change in the seasons. Though we collected a great deal of goodies, these petite, golden carrots caught my eye. Wanting to use them to their full potential, I kept them whole and cooked them up quickly on the stove top with a sweet, tangy and savory glaze.


Glazed Carrots
adapted from the Healthy Hedonist by Myra Kornfeld

1 small bunch petite carrots, trimmed and peeled
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp mirin
pinch of salt
pinch of freshly ground pepper
pinch of coriander, ground

Place all ingredients in small saute pan over med-low heat. Cover and cook for about 8 minutes, or until carrots begin to become tender. Uncover and cook an additional 4 minutes, until carrots begin to caramelize slightly. Remove from heat and enjoy!

Brussel Sprouts and Whole Grain Crostini

I don't recall ever being offered Brussels sprouts as a vegetable option as a kid. I'm not sure if my parents refused to even try to wage a PR campaign against the sadly maligned vegetable, or if they themselves were victims of poorly prepared Brussels sprouts. This ain't your momma's Brussels sprouts. Or if they were, I'd like to shake your mom's hand. I was introduced to the transformative power of bacon on Brussels sprouts at DC's Central restaurant where we and our friends thought the sprouts were so delicious, we literally ordered another serving. Here, Mr. P has called on Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" (a great cookbook to have on hand, by the way) to recreate some of that magic, and his attempt was a great success! Cut the sprouts as small as you are able without them disintegrating for maximum deliciousness. Someday, I'd like to try this roasted or braised with whole sprouts, but this makes for a tasty and surprisingly quick side of vege. Mr. P had the brilliant notion of toasting some whole grain baguette under the broiler with a bit of olive oil and salt to accompany this. So simple, so delicious!

Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

3-5 slices of uncooked bacon, chopped
1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut into quarters
1/4 c of water
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the bacon in a large skillet until crisp over med-high heat. Add the sprouts and a 1/4 c of water to the skillet. Reduce heat and cook for about 5 minutes until sprouts soften. Raise heat, and cook off the remaining water - cooking for another 5-10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar and serve.

Whole Grain Crostini

1 whole grain baguette
Few Tbs of good-quality olive oil

Preheat Broiler. Slice baguette into thin slices. Brush with olive oil and dust with sea (or other) salt. Broil for 1-2 minutes (be sure to keep an eye on them as they burn quickly!) until they reach a nice golden brown. You can jazz this up with cheese, herbs or garlic also, if desired.

Enjoy!

Hot time, summer and Tzadziki

It's been a particularly miserable summer in DC, and the kitchen has sadly, been very lightly used. There are, however, a few summer favorites I keep coming back to that require little if no time around anything hot. Tzadziki, a middle eastern salad (or spread) of yogurt and cucumber is one of my favorite no-heat summer dishes. Whip some up, spread it on your favorite pita and add your favorite protein (grilled chicken is the favorite here) and lettuce and you're good to go for one great summer meal.This is also a great way to use some summer garden bounty (container or otherwise) - like my wee cucumbers here. There is nothing wee about the amount of mint I have in the garden, so I like to use a heavy hand with it.


Tzadziki
adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking

2 cups Greek yogurt (do 0% if you must, but it will taste so much better with 2% or whole)
2 c cucumber chopped (about 1 large or 2 small or 4 teeny tiny)
salt and white pepper to taste
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp dried dill (if you have fresh, use 2 tsp, chopped)
1 tbs chopped mint leaves
2 tbs white wine vinegar
1 tbs olive oil

Seed and chop the cucumber. Place in a colander gently toss with a few pinches of salt. Let sit for 30 minutes (trust me, wait the 30 minutes. This will dry your cukes out so you don't get the dreaded slimy cucumbers or an overly-watery sauce). After the 30 min. have passed, wring the cukes out with a clean tea cloth or napkin. Place in bowl.

Crush garlic with a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle and add to bowl. Add dill, mint, vinegar and additional salt or white pepper to taste. Mix together and drizzle olive oil on top right before serving.

Asparagus Coins

I love learning new things about food and cooking. One of the ways we Pleasants go about learning about these things is through cookbooks. I have a rather long list of cookbooks in my library queue, and when we really fall in love with something, we'll buy it for ourselves. One of the best of these finds recently has been Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc.I was a great admirer of his French Laundry cookbook, but found the scale and technique rather daunting. More of a 'look but don't touch' feeling as far as I was concerned. However, like the restaurant of the same name Ad Hoc caters to family-style gatherings with approachable but impeccable food. The Mr. and I love how almost every recipe in this book teaches us something new about cooking, technique, particularly the 'light bulb moments' the book shares about simple, obvious, smack-your-forehead 'why didn't I think of that?' tidbits about cooking.

One of these was sharing a way to prepare the Asparagus coins pictured here. Not only did it suggest a method of preparing asparagus we had never tried before (coins?!?) but also, while fresh asparagus can be unwieldy and difficult or time consuming to cut individually, wrapping them up in a bundle with a rubber band and taking them as a group to a mandolin is a wonderfully easy and precise way to prepare these beauties. Duh!

Enjoy these on their own as a side dish or toss them into a salad like we did.

Asparagus Coins

adapted from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc

1 1/2 lbs thin asparagus, with ends snapped and 'coined' (technique above) plus tips

3 Tbs olive oil

a small handful of fresh chive

a small handful of fresh parsley

kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Heat oil and herbs in frying pan over medium heat with the tips, swirling ingredients together for about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the coins and cook until the edges look cooked but the centers are still raw. Add 3 Tbs water and cook until the asparagus is tender, another 1 1/2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and enjoy.

Wheatberry Salad with Dates, Celery and Walnut

Wheat berries and the idea of the freedom of adulthood go hand and hand to me. Growing up, I went to church more or less every Sunday and I will confess, sometimes I went rather grudgingly. I would look with longing at the leisurely brunchers at Bread and Chocolate as we sped by on our way to church, wistfully hoping for the day when I was a grown up and could spend Sunday mornings as leisurely as I liked and over brunches if I so chose. Every great once and a while, I could convince my parents to stop for brunch on the way home from church. While the challah french toast at Bread and Chocolate was divine, they served a wheat berry salad - sweet, nutty, acerbic and delicious that somehow tasted like those grown-up dreams of mine. It was the first place I'd ever tasted wheat berries and it's still my favorite way to prepare them. Though Bread and Chocolate isn't there anymore, my memory of that wheat berry salad and all the promise it represented is still quite vivid. And this adaptation of Martha Stewart's version comes quite close to recreating that salad. To have as I choose on Sunday mornings or otherwise, of course ;)

Wheat Berry Salad
adapted from MSL March 2010

1 c wheat berries (soaked overnight or at least 4 hours, drained)

2 celery stalks, chopped

3/4 c pitted, chopped dates

zest of 1 orange

juice of 1 orange

2 tbs walnut oil

3 tbs sherry vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Place wheat berries in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 35 minutes. Drain.

While cooking, prepare the vinaigrette. Whisk together orange zest and juice, walnut oil and sherry vinegar.

Once the wheat berries are done, in a bowl, combine wheat berries, walnuts, celery, dates and vinaigrette (give it a good whisk before you pour it in, making sure it emulsifies). Mix together and enjoy!

Roasted Carrots with Feta and Parsley

It's hard not to be a little disenchanted with root vegetables as the end of winter. This time of year, when the promise of fresh spring veggies is so close, yet you are still cycling through the same root vegetables that have been available for most of the season. Another root vegetable? Siiiigh. However, this month's MSL had a nice little pick-me-up for one ubiquitous root vegetable - the carrot. Roasted to a delicious intensity of flavor and lighted with feta cheese and parsley, this is a fabulous way to pep up veggies when you're pooped out of the same-old-same-old winter veggie selection.

Roasted Carrots with Feta and Parsley
adapted from MSL March 2010

1 1/2 lb carrots, peeled, sliced on the bias about 1" thick
1 Tbs olive oil
1/4 feta cheese
1-2 Tbs chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line jelly roll pan with aluminum foil. Place carrots on sheet, drizzle with the olive oil and turn to coat. Roast carrots for 20-25 minutes until browned and tender. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste while warm. Once cooled, mix together in bowl with feta and parsley.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Tartlettes

As I have already mentioned once, twice, or perhaps a few hundred times on this blog, I adore autumn. The flavors, colors, coolness, sense of newness and the beginning of all sorts of possibilities. One of my favorites of the season is the butternut squash. I love it in soup, in ravioli, roasted.... we'll you get the idea. I stumbled across a method of preparing this glorious vegetable described in Deborah Madison's vegetarian cooking for everyone - wrapping up a delicious combination of onion, sage, roasted garlic and butternut squash in a rustic olive oils yeast-raised gallete dough wrapper. It sounded absolutely fabulous, and I was not disappointed.

Butternut Squash Tartlettes

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

1 large butternut squash

1 head of garlic cloves separated but not peeled

1 Tbs olive oil and extra for brushing squash

1 onion, diced

1 tsp dried sage

1/2 c freshly grated pecorino or parmesan

salt and pepper

1 egg, beaten

Make dough (instructions listed below). Preheat oven to 375. Cut squash in half, scrape out seeds, brush the surface with oil. Stuff garlic into cavities and place face down on a baking sheet. Bake until flesh is tender- about 40 minutes. When cooled, scroop out squash and squeeze garlic cloves. Mash together until fairly smooth - leaving some texture.

Warm 1 Tbs oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sage and cook until onion is soft and begining to color -about 12 min. Add it to teh squash along with cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

Roll out dough into one large tart or 6 small tartlettes ( I did the latter). Spread filling over it, leaving about 2'' around the edges. Pleat dough over filling, brush edges with egg. Bake until crust is golden about 25 min.

Yeasted Olive Oil Tart Dough

2 tsp active dry yeat

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 c warm water

3 Tbs olive oil

1 egg

3/8 tsp salt

1 3/4 c flour, as needed

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water in a meduim bowl and let stand until bubbly or 10 min. Add oil, egg, salt then stir in the flour. Knead with hands when mixture is too thick for a spoon. Knead until smooth and elastic or about 4 min. Place in oiled bowl and allow to rise, covered, until doubled in size - about 45 min. Turn out and roll out if making one large tart, or break into 6 equal pieces and allow to sit for 15 min.

Heather's Mock Crab Cakes

A good girl from MD loves her crab cakes with real, Chesapeake crab. However, especially this year, crab does not come cheap. When on the cheap or when cooking veggie, these are a nice alternative to the real deal. Mr. Pleasant was not as big a fan as I was of these - but he is not a zucchini fan. In light of that, we might try substituting carrot, spinach or parsnip next time. These were great on their own but might be nice on potato rolls - coleslaw completed them and we added in some market-fresh green beans to complete the meal.



Heather's Mock Crab Cakes
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 Tablespoon mayo
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning or more
1 egg

Mix, form patties, saute in oil until browned.

A Proper Sunday Dinner

Came home with a great haul from the farmers market this morning - great beans, corn, peaches, and a whole host of other delicious things. We couldn't wait to dig into the corn and had it with a quick lunch. Dinner, however, was a more meditated affair. Broke out a whole broiler chicken from a previous trip to the farmer's market and set our with my first braising attempt. While I don't yet have a cast iron casserole (it's been on my wish list for some time now), my hand-me-down glass casserole dish held up well. Mashed potatoes and fresh market green beans rounded out the meal (we do love potatoes;)



Braised Chicken
from chocolateandzucchini.com

1 large free-range chicken, about 2 kilos (4 pounds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Fine sea salt, freshly ground pepper
1 large head garlic
1 organic lemon, cut in four quarters
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Rub the skin of the chicken with olive oil, sprinkle it with salt and pepper on all sides, and place it, breasts-side up, in a clay pot or cast-iron cocotte large enough to accommodate it. Peel the outer layers off the head of garlic to separate the individual cloves -- don't peel the cloves themselves. Arrange the cloves, lemon, and herbs around the chicken.

Put the lid on, slip the pot in the cold (not preheated) oven, and turn the oven on to 150°C (300°F). Bake for three hours, or until cooked through (if you have a meat thermometer, insert it in the inner part of a thigh: the chicken is done when the thermometer registers 82°C / 180°F), basting the chicken with its own juices every 45 minutes or so.

Transfer the chicken to a cutting board, carve the different serving parts, and transfer to a warm serving dish (pour very hot water from the kettle into it and let stand as you cut the chicken). Transfer the juices, herbs, and cloves to a gravy boat, and serve immediately.

Happy Belated Birthday to me

Nothing like a Friday evening gathering with friends...all the better when it's an event to celebrate your Birthday! Even if it's a few days late. Everyone brought a dish to share, Mr. Pleasant made a fabulous cake for me and I whipped up a few appetizers, the star of the pack being an asparagus, Parmesan tart. Time was short, so I had a perfect use for the puff pastry that's been sitting in my freezer. Buttery but light and the asparagus was just tender crisp enough, seasoned to perfection. Simple and delicious. Adapted from Martha Stewart via The Perfect Pantry.




Asparagus Parmesan Tart
adapted from The Perfect Pantry

1 sheet frozen puff pastry
2 cups (approx. 5-1/2 oz) Parmesan, shredded
1-1/2 pounds medium asparagus
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. On a floured surface, roll pastry into a 16 x 10 inch rectangle. Trim uneven edges. Place the pastry on a baking sheet. With a sharp knife score the dough 1 inch in from the edges to mark a rectangle. Using a fork, pierce the dough inside the markings at half-inch intervals. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Remove the pastry shell from the oven, and sprinkle with cheese. Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears to fit crosswise inside the tart shell; arrange in a single layer over the cheese, alternating ends and tips. Brush with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until spears are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Chicken a la Julia and a Clafoutis...sort of...

So, today's culinary adventure revolved around a few "new" things for me. What better way to learn than through trial by fire, right? Ha. I've only recently begun to eat fish and organic poultry after over a decade of vegetarianism. I could get into the reasons, but perhaps another time. First up was roasted potatoes with onion - then steamed green beans with shallot in walnut oil, and to up the ante, I cracked open my brand new "Mastering the Art of French Cooking vol. 1" (courtesy of my sister for my Birthday) by none other than a trio of brilliant cooks including Miz Julia Child to figure out what the heck to do with the chicken.

Mr. Pleasant totally got me hooked on these little custard cups -
makes me feel like a reg-U-lar TeeVee cook!

Everything but the chicken went as expected, which I was not entirely sure about - having hardly prepared chicken at all. The first annoyance was the time it took for the thicker-than-your-average cut to thaw, and then how much longer said thick cuts took to cook. I should have just sliced the suckers in half, but alas, I did not till later in the cooking when the exteriors were perfect and the insides were still decidedly uncooked. So, they got a little overcooked, but not to the point where they were inedible. Luckily, my first pan deglazing went quite well and the sauce helped moisten up the slightly overcooked chicken.

So, presentation isn't the best ever, but here's dinner!


Dessert was an adventure - Mr. Pleasant was in charge of removing my first attempt at a Clafoutis from the oven when I was at the grocery store - I came home to see most of the custard had escaped from its tart pan prison on to the cookie sheet around it (thank goodness I added that as an extra precaution!). Though it was a bit thinner than anticipated, not nearly as pretty as Orangette's version of it (which I was aiming for) it still tasted wonderful :)

Without further ado, the recipes of the evening:

Roasted Potatoes
(serves 3-4)
4-5 potatoes (yukon gold are my favorite)
2 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil for greasing

Line jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and grease lightly with olive oil. Peel potatoes and cut into bite size pieces. Boil until just soft, or about 10 minutes on high heat. Drain and place on jelly roll pan. Add onion and olive oil, stirring to coat. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until beginning to brown. Stir, and return to oven for 5-10 minutes depending on how brown you want the spuds. Add salt and pepper to taste. Optional additions: rosemary, herbs de Provence, or a collection of whatever is fresh in your herb garden.

Steamed Green Beans with Shallot and Walnut Oil

1-2 lbs green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half (if desired)
1 shallot, chopped
1 Tbs walnut oil
salt and pepper to taste

Steam green beans until bright green and tender-crisp. Remove and set aside. In frying or medium sized sauce pan, heat walnut oil on medium -high heat and add shallot. Saute for a moment (so the shallots sizzle slightly in the oil), turn off heat and add green beans, tossing to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Can be served warm, but more flavorful when served at room temperature.

Sauted Chicken Breasts
Adapted from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking", Bertholle, Beck, Child

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs olive oil
1 C flour

for Deglazing

1 Tbs shallot, chopped
2/3 C broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 Tbs parsley, chopped

Heat oil and melt butter in frying pan. Coat chicken breasts with flour and place in pan at medium to medium-high heat. Cook 3 minutes per side, longer if necessary. Remove chicken from pan. Add shallot to butter and oil remaining in pan. Saute for a moment, then add broth and wine. Bring to a boil and reduce until thickened. Serve sauce over chicken, garnished with parsley.

Nectarine Clafoutis
adapted from Orangette

1 large nectarine, pitted and cut into wedges
3 large eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup whole milk
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
½ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
Powdered sugar, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and lightly butter a 9-inch pie dish*. Arrange the plum wedges, skin side down, in a decorative pattern on the bottom of the dish. Whisk the eggs and sugar in a medium bowl until pale yellow, about 1 minute. Add the milk, vanilla, and salt, and whisk to combine. Sprinkle the flour over the batter, and whisk until smooth. Pour the batter gently over the plums, trying to disturb them as little as possible (some will float and move around no matter how gentle you are). Bake the clafoutis until puffed and nicely golden around the edges, about 45-50 minutes. Remove the clafoutis from the oven, and allow it to cool for a half hour or so, during which time you’ll see it deflate and settle a bit. Serve it warm or at room temperature, dusted with powdered sugar.
Yield: 6-8 servings

* Ms. Orangette used a tart pan - as did I, but clearly, using a tart pan from which the bottom pops out was ill-advised. Ha!