Broccoli and a Lighter Cheddar Cheese Sauce

In my last post, I told you how I sometimes use evaporated skim milk thickened with a little cornstarch in place of heavier cream when I'm trying to keep a recipe a bit lighter.  After the Penne and Shrimp with Cilantro-Cream Sauce, I had just enough evaporated milk left over to make this cheese sauce.  Since there seems to have been a little interest in the technique, I thought I'd share this recipe with you as well, in case you also find yourself with leftovers.

I think it's a fine tasting sauce.  Not as heavy as a traditional cheese sauce, and perhaps not as richly flavored.  But it also manages to keep broccoli from turning into an indulgence. And let's face it, if I'm going to indulge, it's not going to be on broccoli.  There are things with chocolate and peanut butter in them for that.

Lightened Cheddar Cheese Sauce

Adopted slightly from Evelyn Tribole's Healthy Homestyle Cooking

3/4 cup Cabotte 2/3 reduced fat cheddar cheese

3 teaspoons cornstarch

3/4 cup evaporated skim milk

Grate the cheese into a small bowl, then sprinkle with one teaspoons cornstarch.  Toss to coat the cheese with the cornstarch.

In a small saucepan, whisk together the remaining 2 teaspoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of the milk.  Then add the rest of the milk and place on the stove over medium heat.  Whisk pretty much constantly until it starts to thicken and bubble, then continue to cook and stir for one minute more.

Reduce the heat to low, and stir in the cheese, cooking only until just melted.

Drizzle over steamed or raw broccoli and enjoy.

Notes:

* It was in a Cook's Illustrated recipe that I discovered that Cabotte 2/3 reduced fat cheese is a rather perfect combination of a lighter cheese that maintains a nice melting texture.  

*  You could spice this up a bit by adding a can (4.5 oz) canned chopped green chilies. 

*  The cheese sauce makes fine leftovers, if you have any.  Just return to the saucepan and heat over medium, stirring, until it's back to the same melting texture.  

*  Other than broccoli, you might consider trying it with asparagus, cauliflower, or even over a baked potato. 

Penne with A Lighter Garlic-Cilantro Cream Sauce

I cannot believe I made this dish today.  We're having 90 degree, summertime weather in NYC in the middle of April.  And because I had already bought the ingredients, and had been planning on making this for lunch without checking the weather, I fired up the oven for 45 minutes, not to mention running 3 burners.  Luckily once it all comes off the heat, and you have a moment to get out of your closet-sized kitchen and into a room with a little air-conditioning, the pasta itself is quite light.   

I've used this trick before, substituting evaporated skim milk thickened with a little corn-starch for heavier cream.  Evaporated milk has a certain sweetness that I tend to like, and it performs well in this dish, where the milk is infused with roasted garlic.  The recipe makes just enough sauce to provide a thin coating, which is why it's necessary to finish cooking the pasta in the sauce.  If you're not partial to shrimp, try chicken, or leave the meat out all together and just enjoy a heady combination of sweet roasted garlic, cilantro and parmesan cheese.

Penne with A Lighter Garlic-Cilantro Cream Sauce

Adopted from Jean-Pierre Brehier's Incredible Cuisine

1 whole garlic head

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 sprig rosemary

2 shallots, minced

1/4 cup chicken or veggie stock

1/2 cup evaporated skim milk

1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

1 pound penne

1/2 pound baby shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 tablespoons cilantro, or more if you like cilantro.

Salt and Pepper

Grated Parmesan cheese

To roast the garlic:

Oven preheated to 375, cut the garlic in half sidewise without removing the outer skin.  Place cut-side up on a baking sheet lined with foil and drizzle on 1 tablespoon of oil.  Arrange the sprig on rosemary on top and sprinkle with pepper.  Close the foil and roast for about 45 minutes.  Let cool, then remove the cloves from their skins.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a saucepan and add the shallots.  Cook until they're golden brown, then stir in the stock and the garlic.  Bring to a boil and add the evaporated milk and the cornstarch dissolved in water.  Either pour into a blender or use an immersion blender and blend until smooth. 

Cook the pasta according to package directions.  While the pasta is cooking, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and sauté the shrimp on both sides.  Add the garlic sauce and season with salt and pepper.  Stir in the cilantro and the cheese.  Drain the pasta, then add it to the pan of sauce, tossing to coat well.  Serve.

Notes:

* The recipe called for 2 tablespoons cilantro but I love the stuff, so I used probably about half a bunch.  If you're one of the unfortunately people who can't stand it, you might consider trying parsley instead.

* Also, this wasn't a ton of shrimp.  I think you could get away with as much as doubling the amount if you wanted to.

Update: I left out how much cilantro you need in the ingredients list!  But I've fixed it now.

Coconut Milk Dinner Buns

I discovered these buns when trying to figure out what to do with my last 1/2 cup of coconut milk (I can't throw ingredients away unless absolutely forced).  The recipe makes the lightest, fluffiest buns, slightly sweet, and amenable to all kinds of fillings.  One suggestion is a filling made from coconut, sugar and butter (yes please!), the kind of sweet buns you might find at a Chinese bakery.  But I have to tell you, slathered with a little butter, dripping with honey from the farmers market, and you're all set.  Plus, they really only require one rise, you can leave them alone for the second time while the oven pre-heats.

The original recipe calls for blended bread flour, which, evidently, has a higher percentage of protein, which helps to build the structure of the bread.  But I didn't have any and didn't really want to find any, so I used all purpose and all was well.

Coconut Milk Dinner Buns

Slightly adopted from this website

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup warm water

1 package active dry yeast

1/2 cup coconut milk (I used light)

1/2 cup regular milk (I used half and half)

1/4 cup butter, cut into smaller pieces

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup warm water

5 - 6 cups all purpose flour

1 egg, beaten, for wash (optional)

Dissolve the first teaspoon of sugar in the 1/2 cup warm water, then sprinkle in the yeast.  Allow to bloom for 10 minutes before stirring.  In the meantime, warm both kinds of milk in a flame-proof bowl or saucepan until luke warm, stirring all the while.  Stir in the butter, the 3 tablespoons of sugar and the 2 teaspoons of salt, as well as the 1/2 cup warm water.

Take off the flame, making sure that the milk isn't hotter than luke warm.  Then add in the yeast and 2 cups of the flour.  A whisk comes in handy hear to beat the dough until starts to become smooth and elastic.

At this point, I switched to a wooden spoon and added in about 2 1/2 more cups of flour.  Continue to beat until the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed.  I kneaded the extra 1/2 cup of flour into the dough, as well as a bit more.  Continue to knead until the dough is smooth, elastic and no longer sticky.  

Place the dough in a large, greased bowl and turn so that all sides of the dough are greased.  Cover with a towel and allow to double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Punch the dough down, then divide in half, and in half again, and again, until you end up with 16 dough-sections.  Roll each section into a bun between the palms of your hands and place on greased baking sheets.  Brush with the beaten egg wash.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the buns are a golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.  Transfer to cooling racks, and enjoy.

*   *   *

I'm sending this post over to Susan at Wild Yeast for the weekly Yeastspotting.  It's been so long!

Red Miso Baked Salmon with Scallions; the Easiest Ever

This has got to be one of the easiest and quickest things I have ever made.  Honestly, it's as easy to poor milk on cereal, only this requires just a modicum of extra stirring.  It comes from a book that I was lucky enough to be sent the other week, Karen Bussen's Simple Stunning Parties at Home.  It's one of those gorgeous full-color books, with plenty of tips for organizing beautiful and even economical (when you consider how much parties away from home can cost) get togethers. 

She includes sections of practical advice on stocking the pantry, being ready with drinks and creating a setting.  Then gives you 12 party ideas, complete with theme and recipes. Unfortunately, my apartment is equipped to accommodate 4 people comfortably, 6 if everyone agrees to keep their utensils between dinner and dessert.  So I'm working up to the next dinner party.  I hope to give you a better description once I use the book a bit more, but in the meantime, I tried this Red Miso Baked Salmon with Scallions.  A little pouring, a few good whisks, and the sauce is spooned over the fish before it's baked.  That's it.

The fish comes out moist and the sauce beings to caramelize.  The sauce that ended up next to the fish didn't fare as well, and couldn't really be spooned over.  But it was supremely easy.  I only used 4 fillets since it's just the two of us and I thought it would be nice for cold salmon leftovers.  But I made the full amount of sauce.

Red Miso Baked Salmon with Scallions

From Karen Bussen's Simple Stunning Parties at Home

1/4 cup red miso paste

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

6 salmon fillets, about 6 oz each.

2 scallions, sliced thinly, and more for garnish

Oven preheated to 400F.  Baking sheet lined with tinfoil with another sheet of tinfoil waiting.

In a small bowl, whisk together the first 4 ingredients.  Place the salmon on the baking sheet and spoon the sauce over each of them.  Top with the scallions, cover with the extra sheet of foil, and bake for 15 minutes.  

Uncover and continue to bake for another 10 minutes, or until the fish is done the way you like it.  Top with fresh scallions and serve.

Gnafron, Savory French Flan

Hi! My name is Mari, and my blog is Once Upon a Plate,  I was really pleased when Andrea asked if I would like to share one of my favorite cookbooks with you on her blog this month.

 

The book I chose is "Simple Soirees, Seasonal menus for Sensational Dinner Parties" by Peggy Knickerbocker. Peggy divides her time between Paris and San Francisco and enjoys giving dinner parties in both places; she is a food journalist and former caterer and restaurateur.

 

Don’t let the title referring to “Dinner Party” recipes throw you because the recipes are not just for dinner parties.  Although the book is filled with lots of helpful hints and secrets to assure your dinner party will be a memorable  success, it includes dozens and dozens of recipes, most perfectly suitable for everyday.

Altogether Peggy provides 100 of her favorite recipes, organized by season.  Some of the recipes are classic favorites, others are more unusual such as the one I chose to make for you.  Peggy explains she almost became obsessed with Gnafron after first tasting it at  the restaurant Chabert et Fis, on the Rue des Marronniers in Lyon several  years ago.  She and her dining companion arrived at the restaurant just before closing. When the Gnafron was described to her, she immediately ordered it; a savory flan baked in pale green leaves.  It was love at first bite;  she tried to ask the chef for the recipe, but she had already departed for the evening.  After looking for over a year to discover the recipe, all she could discover was that Gnafron shared its name with a hard-drinking yet philosophical children’s puppet show character named Guignol.  The puppet show was written by Laurent Mouruet in the 1880’s.  Some time later, at a party, Peggy met up with an old friend whose fiancé just happened to live blocks from the restaurant where she tasted her first Gnafron.  He sent her the recipe jotted in French on a cocktail napkin.  The following is Peggy’s interpretation of the dish which is one of her favorites for luncheons, as well as dinners by the fire.

It’s perfect for company as it can be either assembled ahead, then baked when the guests arrive. Alternately, it can be baked ahead and simply reheated at suppertime. But no need to wait for company.

 

In the book Peggy suggests hors d’oeuvre suggests another specialty of Lyon, a variety of sausages, served on a wooden board, along with chilled radishes, or a bowl of olives.  Then the Gnafron, followed by a crisp red and Green Salad (romaine, radicchio with a red wine vinegar vinaigrette and garnished with toasted and salted pistachios.   For dessert Rhubarb and Strawberry Compote, followed by espresso, and a dish of dark chocolate squares or other candy.

 

It is a beautiful, coffee table quality cookbook (but one that can actually be used for its recipes).  Plenty of gorgeous photographs by Christopher Hirsheimer, too.

Gnafron

Adapted from “Simple Soirees” by Peggy Knickerbocker

Recipe yields 6 ramekins

 

Gnafron is a savory flan from Lyon, France. It is baked in edible leaf-lined ramekins.

 

For the Gnafron

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 carrot, diced

½ pound andouille sausage or other distinctively flavored, spicy sausage, finely chopped

1 medium onion, minced

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Splash of white wine

1 Napa cabbage, separated, tough parts of the core removed (16 to 20 leaves)*

2 tablespoons unsalted butter for greasing the ramekins

4 large eggs

¼ cup heavy cream

 

For the Garlic Cream

3 cloves garlic

Pinch of sugar

Pinch of salt

Splash of white wine

½ cup heavy cream

 

To make the Gnafron

 

Melt the butter in the olive oil in a heavy saucepan, add sausage, carrot, onion, thyme and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper.  Simmer slowly for 15 minutes; as the mixture becomes dry add the white wine.  Allow to simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes; remove pan from hat and allow the sausage mix to cool for about 10 minutes.

 

While the sausage mix is cooking, bring about 4 cups of water to a boil in a deep skillet or pot. Salt generously, reduce heat to simmer and blanch the cabbage leaves (tender parts only)* a few at a time. Remove with tongs and allow to drain and cool on clean kitchen towels.

 

Butter interiors of 6 small ramekins, or soufflé dishes with butter. Line the dishes with cabbage

leaves allowing them to overlap so when the egg-sausage mixture is spooned into them they can be

 folded over to enclose the filling.

 

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs with the cream, add a bit of salt and pepper. Stir the

 cooled sausage mixture; mix well. Divide the mixture among the lined ramekins and fold the

 overlapping leaves over the top. Do not be concerned if the mixture leaks out around the leaves.

 

Preheat oven to 350* (F)

 

Place the ramekins in a deep baking pan, large enough to hold them all. Pour warm water around them

so it comes ¾ of the way up the sides of the ramekins.

 

Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 1 hour (begin checking at 30 minutes; mine were done in

45 minutes.  When they are done, the Gnafron will be set and the top will be firm to the touch.  If the

 tops begin to brown place a sheet of foil loosely over the tops.  It’s okay if the tops get golden brown.

 

To make the garlic cream

 

While the Gnafron bakes, make the garlic cream.  In a small heave pot combine the garlic, sugar, salt and

 splash of water; cook over medium low heat for a few minutes. Add a splash of dry white wine;

 continue to cook for about 5 minutes.  Turn off the heat and allow the garlic to steep in the cream until

the Gnafron come out of the oven.  Reheat the garlic cream over low heat (it will be thin); remove and

 discard the garlic.

 

To serve, run a knife around the sides of the ramekins to loosen the mixture. Turn out onto a platter or

  individual plates (or serve right in the ramekins.)  Serve with a little garlic cream over the tops, and/or in a pool around them.

 

 

*Note on blanching the cabbage leaves:  I blanch the leaves whole, then when they have drained and cooled, cut a “v”

to remove the tough core part of each leaf (cutting them out afterwards makes the

Leaves easier to handle and not as apt to tear while blanching.)

Piele, Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Coconut Milk

I've seen several variations on this theme, some using ginger, some using curry, some using butter, and some using ghee.  You can dress it up with garlic,  spice it up with red pepper flakes, garnish with cilantro, even add some salt and sugar.  Although it's probably best not to do all of that at once.  You should choose your flavors.  But sweet potato in coconut milk is amendable to all of them in various combinations.  

I decided on about the simplest preparation you could hope for, just sweet potatoes whipped with coconut milk and spiked with a bit of white pepper.  If you roast your sweet potatoes for a good hour, they'll be tender enough not to need any formal puréeing beyond what a fork is capable of.  Then your active time is cut down to nearly seconds, and you won't dirty additional dishes (you can see where my priorities lie).  And it'd delicious, and it's naturally vegan.  And, if you use light coconut milk, it even qualifies as healthy.

In Hawaii, it seems, it's called piele, and although I don't think hawaii can lay the only claim to the combination, since they've given it a name, I'll let them take the credit.  If you like sweet potatoes, you'll love this.  If you hate sweet potatoes, then I don't understand you.  But that doesn't mean I don't still like you.  Maybe this recipe can change your mind.

Piele, Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Coconut Milk

3 medium sweet potatoes

1 can coconut milk (I used light coconut milk)

White pepper

Preheat the oven to 425.  Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork, then bake for about 1 hour, until well cooked all the way through.

Peel the potatoes, the skins should just kind of slip off.  Place the potatoes in a bowl and begin to mash with a fork.  They'll be so tender they'll almost instantly turn into a near-purée.  As you mash, add some of the coconut milk until you reach your desired consistency.  Probably around 3/4 a cup.  Add the white pepper to taste and serve.

Notes:

* Fresh ginger would also be wonderful here

*  If you prefer to microwave your potatoes instead of baking them, feel free

* Remember to shake your can of coconut milk well before opening so it all combines

Orange and Lavender Crisps

I thought I put them up high enough, I really did.  Boxes stacked up, one on top of the other, in the middle of a table, surrounded by books.  You'd think this makeshift barricade would be enough.  But then, you don't know Pancha.  My wonderful little mutt, we've been together for more than 5 years, and she's been off the street for that long.  But she still has something of the homeless puppy in her, she's still very worried about starving.  If you let her, she'll try to convince you that she hasn't eaten in days (a lie) and that she absolutely must have a bite of whatever you're eating, or she'll be in danger of withering away.  And if her performance isn't convincing enough, her cunning should get the job done.

So once these cookies were cool enough to be stored, I put them into boxes and tried to get them out of her reach when I left the apartment. (We're very short on high counter spaces over here.)  Thankfully I got to sample one first, because when I came home, she had managed to drag the box to the edge of the table, open the lid, and without making any sort of a mess, pluck the cookies one by one from their container, as she's not one to dump food on the ground.  The most delicately flavored, lacy little dog treats.  Which is why I only have pictures of them on the cooling racks.

Maybe it's just that she was as tired of winter as the rest of us, and needed something bright and spring-like.  Citrus and lavender, the cleanest of flavors to wipe away the cobwebs of winter.  Both Pancha and I, evidently, loved the flavor of these little treats.  Although I had a spreading problem when they were baking (which is par for the course when it comes to me and cookies), the flavor made up for it.

Orange and Lavender Crisps

From The Great Big Cookie Book

1/2 cup sugar

1 - 1 1/2 teaspoon dried lavender

2 teaspoons orange zest

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons orange extract diluted in 1 1/2 teaspoons water

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

Place the first three ingredients into a food processor and process on high until everything is finely minced and the lavender and zest are distributed throughout the sugar.  Set aside.

Cream the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer (or standing mixer) then add the sugar and continue to mix on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Beat in the orange extract and the salt, then stir in the flour gently.

Oven preheated to 375F, 2 cookie sheets, ungreased

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours until firm.

Roll the dough out on a lightly flour surface, to about 1/8" thick.  cut into small cookies (I used a 1 1/2" flower, as you can see) and place on the baking sheets.  Bake in the center of the oven for 7 - 9 minutes, until golden but not too browned.

Let cool on the pan for about half a minute, then transfer to cooling racks to finish.

Potato and Celery Root Mash with Coconut Milk

I've been thinking about mashed potatoes and coconut milk for a few days now.  Used to add creaminess to some of our favorite dishes, such as curries, I thought it just might get along famously with the mashed potato.  Besides, coconut milk is often added to sweet potato mash, so maybe it wouldn't be totally out of place.  But why stop at potatoes when you've overbought celery root for your soup, and have two of the three leeks that came in that bunch left over?  I think you know the answer.

Sometimes dishes developed to use things up end up being pretty darn special on their own terms.  We loved this.  Granted, we are partial to things like onion, garlic, leeks etc. so I cooked up both huge leeks, which then refused to fade into any kind of a background in the finished dish.  Fine by me.  If it's not fine by you, try one leek instead.  And that coconut milk? Definitely added creaminess, and there was another level of flavor, of subtle sweetness, hiding at the back of the throat.  Coconut milk was a success, and it might even be my new go-to for mashed potatoes.  

Potato and Celery Root Mash with Coconut Milk

Original Recipe

1 medium sized celery root, peeled and chopped

2 potatoes, cleaned and chopped, peeling is up to you

1/2 - 3/4 cup coconut milk (I used light coconut milk)

3 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed

2 leeks, cleaned and sliced 

Salt and pepper

Into a large pot, place the celery root and potatoes.  Cover with water and bring to a boil.  Simmer until the potatoes and celery root are fork tender.

In the meantime, heat the butter in a pan and add and leeks.  Sauté for about 5 minutes, until tender, but not brown.  Add the garlic and continue to cook 1 minute more, until fragrant.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Drain the potatoes and celery root and place them in a large bowl.  Add the coconut milk and mash with a potato masher until you reach your desired consistency.  Stir the salt and pepper to taste, as well as the reserved leek and garlic mixture.  Enjoy.

Note:

* You might not want as much leek as I used.  If you're not as much of a fan, or want it to be a smaller component of the dish, use one medium or even small leek instead of two.

Celery Root and Caramelized Pear Soup

I know, yesterday I gave you my favorite asparagus, that classic harbinger of spring, and today I'm back with the ugly step-child of winter, the celery root.  But if spring is in part about the oscillation between winter and summer, the sequence doesn't seem so out of place.  Besides, although the celery root might look like the troll banished from the kingdom where those beautiful pears must live, its taste is surprisingly fresh.  And it's not at all difficult to deal with.  Plus, it's one way of giving celery its due, of promoting it from its usual role as supporting actress, since the flavor of the root is very much like that of the stalks, only magnified.

The pears, caramelized in honey and finished with balsamic vinegar, really add a specialness to the dish that belies its homely roots.  In fact, although you start with such basic, and in one case ugly, ingredients, what you get ends up being elegant and refined.  And assuming you're comfortable chopping a few vegetables, this is not the most time-consuming soup I've ever made, although there is a bit more involved than just opening cans.

We both loved it, even R gave it the thumbs up.  Which is saying something, because he professes to hate both warm fruit (huh?) and puréed soups (double huh?).  Proving once more, why it's a good thing I never really listen.

To cut your celery root, simply take a sharp chef's knife (or, if you're like me, a rather dull chef's knife in desperate need of sharpening, but do that at your own risk) and slice off the knotted end, as well as a bit of the opposite end so you have two flat ends.  Stand the root on one of these ends and cut away the remaining skin.  Then, simply chop the white flesh inside.

Celery Root and Caramelized Pear Soup

Slightly adopted from Alfred Portale's Simple Pleasures

1 1/2 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, chopped

2 medium celery ribs, chopped

1 small or 1/2 medium leek, white part only, sliced, green part reserved

4 small garlic cloves, passed through a press

1 medium celery root, peeled and chopped

1/2 medium idaho potato, peeled and chopped

3 Bosc pears, divided, peeled, cored and cut into a medium dice

4 1/2 cup vegetable stock

1 bouquet garni of 2 bay leaves, 5 sprigs of parsley and 2 sprigs of thyme

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons honey

1 sprig rosemary

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Melt the butter in a dutch oven or another heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat and add the onion, celery and leek.  Sauté for about 6 minutes, until softened but not browned.  Add the garlic and cook for an additional minute.  Next, add the celery root, the potato, one of the pears and the chicken stock.  To this, add the bouquet garni and the reserved green part of the leek. 

Increase the heat and bring the stock to a boil.  Season with salt and pepper, stir, and reduce the heat to a simmer.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

In the meantime, heat the honey in a small skillet over medium to medium-high heat until it bubbles.  Add the rest of the pear and the sprig of rosemary and stir until the pear is well caramelized and soft.  Add the balsamic vinegar and stir until everything is coated, about another 2 minutes.  Discard the rosemary and set the pears aside.

Purée the soup using your preferred method, either with a blender or food processor or with an immersion blender (my method of choice).  Check for seasonings and adjust if needed.  Serve the soup topped with the caramelized pears.

The Ultimate Roasted Asparagus

It's healthy to be suspicious of blanket statements, but as a general rule, there is no vegetable that doesn't benefit from a little roasting. In fact, I'd be willing to say that roasting is the superlative way with veggies. It caramelizes the outside, traps juices inside and intensifies flavor, rather than boiling it away. There is no other way I'd rather eat brussel(s) sprouts, for instance, or asparagus.

And this is my favorite way to roast asparagus. It is the best way, in fact, to roast asparagus. Now, you can disagree with me all you want, tell me simply roasted with olive oil and a little salt, is perfect, perhaps with a squeeze of lemon at the end. Maybe. But this one is still my favorite. For one thing, combining mayonnaise and mustard is one of those perfect mingling of flavors, creamy, the fresh taste of dairy, pitted against the bite of mustard. There is nothing I'd rather have holding on my bread crumbs.

Reduced fat mayonnaise is fine, you won't notice the difference once the oven's heat gets involved. And when choosing your asparagus, in this case, avoid those slender stalks, all elegance and fragility, and go for the meatier ones. They'll hold the coating better, and there will be more surface area for your mayonnaise/mustard mixture. You can prepare the asparagus right up to the baking phase, and refridgerate until just before party time if you intend to use them as hors d'oeuvres. Or bake them right off and top with a poached egg for a light meal. I'll give you the recipe basically as it appears in Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven's The Way We Cook, because I stopped measuring these ingredients long ago and just started tasting.

Roasted Asparagus with Panko Bread Crumbs

Slightly Adopted from Sheryl Julian and Julie Riven's The Way We Cook

1/4 cup mayonnaise, reduced fat is fine

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 pound thick asparagus spears, tough ends removed

Oven preheated to 450F, baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

In a shallow bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Pie pans and cake pans are good for this use, as they tend to be shallow. In another shallow bowl or pan, pour the Panko. Roll the asparagus spears first in the mustard mixture, then roll in the panko and place immediately on the prepared baking sheet.

Roast for about 13 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the cooking time. The crumbs should turn a golden brown, and the spears should be tender, but not soggy. Sprinkle with a bit more salt if you'd like, or another squeeze of lemon. Serve right away, either by themselves, or crowned with a poached egg.

Ginger Roasted Chickpeas

I am always just about the last person to jump on a trend.  I can't commit to something until I am absolutely sure that all the cool kids are doing it, thus increasing my chances to be counted among them.  (Note: use of the word "thus" will almost never get you into the circle.)  I've seen roasted chickpeas popping up all over the place lately, and it's no wonder.  Why wouldn't you want a delicious, salt-satisfying snack that's really, truly healthy?  Not "healthy" in the way baked chips of thin cardboard or low-fat snack cakes of styrofoam are healthy, lacking, as they do, all actual nutritional value.  I mean honest to goodness healthy: protein, fiber, folic acid and iron.  And if you balk at drenching them in heart-healthy olive oil, you can even use spray instead.

The possible flavor combinations are endless.  I happen to love spicy in a snack, so I went with a combination I found in Yamuna Devi's Yamuna's Table.  She uses fresh ginger and chili powder, and I added a bit more salt.  But if ever there were a moment when experimentation would surely yield a good result, now is that time.  Oh, and cool kids?  I'll be expecting my official membership card any day now.

Gingered Roasted Chickpeas

Adopted From Yamuna Devi's Yamuna's Table

1 pound bag dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained

Olive oil spary

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

1/2 salt, or more to taste

1 1/2 tablespoons chili pepper

Simmer the soaked chickpeas in a covered pan until tender, but not mushy.  This could take anywhere from 1 -2 1/2 hours.  It took me exactly 1 hour, so start checking early.  Drain the chickpeas and dry them on paper towels.

Oven preheated to 325, place the chickpeas in a bowl and spray them with the oil. Toss with the ginger, chili and salt until well coated.  Transfer the chickpeas to two baking sheets and spray with olive oil again, spreading them out into a single layer. 

Bake for around 1 1/4 hours, stirring and re-spraying with oil every 15 minutes, until crispy.  Enjoy!

Cooked Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

It seems that whenever I remember reading about an interesting combination or technique, these persimmon chips being one example, a quick google search leads me back to Esi and her blog Dishing up Delights.  And that, my friends, is where I first heard about pumpkin oatmeal.  Yesterday, I tried a variation of the recipe with some McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal, my personal porridge of choice.  Oatmeal in general is touted as a nutritious whole grain, but when you go for the quick-cooking rolled oats of the Quaker variety, the bran has been removed and they've been processed to absorb more water, thus the quicker cooking time.  

Steel cut Irish oats, on the other hand, have had the inedible outer husk removed, and have then simply been cut into smaller pieces, leaving the nutrient-rich bran intact.  I am not going to lie to you and say that I eschew instant oats as a rule, I have no such imperative when it comes to breakfast.  But when there's a bit more time in the morning, I love the texture of steel cut oats, and will gladly sacrifice the 30 minutes or so needed to cook them.  

Basically, for steel cut oats with pumpkin, I cooked the oats according to the package directions, but stirred in about 1/4 cup canned pumpkin, about 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, as well as about 2 tablespoons real maple syrup 5 minutes before the cooking time was over.  After all of that, I wasn't about to let the considerable leftovers go to waste.  So instead, I used the pumpkin oats as the basis for these healthy breakfast cookies, which, however, were gone by the end of the day, making them instead healthy all-day cookies.

Cooked Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

A Cooking Books Original

1 rather heaping cup cooked Pumpkin Oatmeal

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup all purpose flour

Oven preheated to 350F, 2 cookie sheets, greased.

With an electric mixer on medium speed, cream the butter for several minutes until it is a pale yellow color.  Add the sugar and continue to cream until you reach a smooth consistency.  Beat in the egg and the vanilla.  

In a separate bowl, gently stir together the oatmeal, flour, baking powder and baking soda, just enough to combine the ingredients.  Stir this mixture until the butter mixture until well combined.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto the cookie sheets.  I think I have a fairly liberal definition of a rounded tablespoon.  Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the cookies are firm and the edges just beginning to brown.  Transfer to a cooling rack to cool.

Notes

* You could get away with using even less sugar, if you want

*  You can use any kind of cooked oatmeal, with any flavorings you may have added, including the quick cooking kind

*  These are light and fluffy, with an almost cake-like texture, not heavy at all, and completely delicious. 

Oven Roasted Okra to Make a Believer Out of You

I have done enough self-reflection over the years to admit that I have a fiery, hot-headed personality.  In certain matters, I vastly prefer people who agree with me over people who don't.  It's not that I can't compromise, I can.  On certain things.  But I can also defend something to the death, and loudly.  Obnoxiously, even.  Don't put it past me.  There's nothing I like better than a good word-wrangle, especially when I can claim myself as the ultimate victor.  That last part is important.  Sure, I could try to get it under control, work on my listening skills, try to see where the other party is coming from, blah blah blah.  But you know, when you're right, you're right.  And I have to tell you: I am right about okra.

And today, I'm going to prove it.  Or rather, I'm going to give you the means to prove it yourself, courtesy of my much loved Yamuna's Table by Yamuna Devi.  Aside from winning the IACP award for her more famous Lord Krishna's Cuisine (which I have yet to get my hands on), the woman sang backup for the Beatles, has cooked for Gandhi and studied at the Cordon Bleu as well as all over India.  I'm all about proving my own points, but when you have an expert in your corner to back you up, well, all the better.  Listen, Devi makes eating okra as addicting as eating candy.  And it's easy.  And it's healthy. (Believe it.)

So if okra can do all of that, it seems this little one-sided debate of mine (maybe better labeled a pontification) has surely won you over, and with okra season just around the corner.  I do love it when I win.

Oven-Roasted Okra

Only very slightly adapted from Yamuna Devi's Yamuna's Table

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon water

1/2 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt or herb salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1 1/2 lbs. okra, rinsed and patted dry

Lime, cut into wedges

Oven preheated to 500F.  Combine all of the ingredients except the okra and lime in a bowl.  Mix to form a grainy paste.  Toss the okra in the mixture, then spread out on a baking sheet.  Lightly spray the okra with cooking spray, and bake for 10 - 12 minutes.  Shake the pan every once in a while to prevent sticking.  The Okra is done when it's nice and tender.  Serve with lime wedges

Cinnamon, Cappuccino Chocolate Thins

There are people who would have you believe that a name is just a name.  That its moniker doesn't, in the end, change the reality of the rose.  I must respectfully disagree.  After all, Renoir didn't call his idylls "Corpulent Women Lolling Naked Outdoors," but instead titled them "Bathers", thus situating them firmly in a classical tradition.  Sometimes a name is all the justification you need.

I don't want to say that I need justification for these cookies, necessarily.  But, on second thought, maybe that is what I'm saying.  Because by most measures, they were a failure.  They were meant to be slice and bake, the kind that you roll into as perfect a log as you can manage in order to slice off neat little circles which should, in theory, maintain some sort of integrity.  They should look about the same post-oven as they did pre.  Not in this case.  In this case, they spread into a giant trigonometry problem of touching, interlocking circles.  With a little care and precision, I extricated each from the other.  But they just weren't what I imagined.  Admittedly, and as you can see, they were too crowded together on the sheet to begin with, but I'm judicious to a fault with my dish-using since it directly correlates to my dish-washing, which is all done by hand.

However, the combination of cinnamon, cappuccino and chocolate made their physical defects fade to the background.  And in fact, had I been expecting a thin cookie, there would have been no defects at all.  So to spare you from the same unmet expectations, we'll agree to call them Cinnamon, Cappuccino Chocolate Thins and leave it at that.

Cinnamon, Cappuccino and Chocolate Thins

From The Great Big Cookie Book by Barbara Grunes and Virginia van Vynckt

2 ounces semisweet chocolate

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room tempearture

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or in the microwave and set aside.

Cream the butter with an electric mixer set on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Increase speed to high and add the sugars and the egg.  Beet until the mixture is smooth, then stir in the coffee and melted chocolate.  

Stir in the rest of the ingredients and shape the dough into 2 logs, which don't have to be perfect because the cookies will spread anyway.  Refrigerate the dough for 45 minutes.

Oven preheated to 350F, and cookie sheets lightly greased, remove the dough from the refrigerator and slice into rounds about 1/4" thick.  Arrange on the cookie sheet with plenty of room between cookies.  Bake for 8 - 10 minutes until the cookies are firm.  Transfer to cooling racks and cool.

Notes:

* Although I'll provide a link to this book because I want to give full credit, I can't necessarily recommend it just yet.  I have to have a few more goes with it first.

Cookies to mend a broken heart: Lime Coconut Shortbread

There are so many ways a heart can break.  And I don't think it's a coincidence that this epicenter of the body is also where emotions are visualized to be held.  It would make sense that our most important muscle performs life support for our physical bodies as well as our souls.  And no one can deny that both kinds of heart break cause physical pain.

Two of the strongest women I know recently had their hearts broken.  My grandmother underwent open heart surgery last week.  At 80 years old, she promised me that she'd get through it because she wasn't going to miss my wedding.  As proof, she explained how she'd already bought her dress, price tags still intact, and how it would be a true crime to waste it.

And one of my best friends suffered the metaphorical kind of heart break, the kind with which everyone is familiar.  The world is so full of clichés regarding this particular kind of loss, that none seem to retain their original poetry.  And a person can be told over and over again that these kinds of feelings, the ache in the chest, the loss of appetite, can, in the end, be beautiful.  Can remind us of how much we need one another, even if our encounters turn out to be fleeting.

Thankfully, both women will get through their heart break.  And, as they say, ultimately only time provides the antidote.  But while waiting for months or years to pass, it happens that there are little pleasure which help to take the sting away.  I like to think that any combination of butter, flour and sugar would qualify as one such pleasure.  So I made this delicate little shortbread, redolent with the flavors of summer.  Easy to eat, it melts away on the tongue, leaving lime and coconut behind.  While I don't presume to say that sweets melt away all heart ache, they certainly help.

Lime and Coconut Shortbread Bars

Only slightly adopted from Tish Boyle's The Good Cookie 

1/4 cup raw macadamia nuts

1 cup all-purpose flour, divided

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Zest of one medium lime

1 1/2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 300F, with rack in the middle.  Greese a 9" square baking pan and set aside.

Place the nuts and 1/2 cup of the flour in a food processor and grind until the nuts are finely chopped.  This should take about 10 seconds constant grinding.  Add the rest of the flour, the cornstarch, the sugar, 1/4 cup of the coconut, the zest and the salt.  Process for another 30 seconds, until blended, then add the butter cubes, scattering them around the flour mixture.  Give the mixture 6 or 7 one-second pulses, then process for a continuous 6 seconds.  The mixture should read a powdery consistency.  Process once more for about 9 seconds, until the mixture begins to clump together.

Turn the dough out into the pan, and press it into the bottom.  Sprinkle the remaining coconut on top, and lightly press it into the shortbread so that it sticks.

Bake for around 50 minutes, until the edges reach a light brown.  Cool the bars in the pan, on a cooling rack, for 15 minutes.  As they cool, cut them into bars, then remove them from the pan and transfer to the cooling rack until they reach room temperature.  

Healthy Sweet Potato Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

I don't care if it's spring and sweet potato season is technically long over (being, as it is, in November and December).  I am constantly seduced by them.  Their paper bag skins hiding a sudden burst of orange. (Is it the sweet potato that's orange, or is that the yam?  I know there are definitive answers to this question, and I've tried to remember, but frankly, at the end of the day, it doesn't much matter to me.)  Why is it that the normal potato (normal in every sense of the word: white interior, wall-flower flavor, the silent bystander to everyone else's party) gets so much more play?  I like to make the sweet potato perform the roles normally reserved for its quiet counterpart: twice baked, simply roasted, in soups, and here, in a potato salad.

I hope I don't have to convince you of the sweet potato's many virtues.  Lord knows I have to convince R, who roundly refuses to try anything that's so much as been in contact with my beloved little root.  Something to do with too many sweet potatoes eaten in New Zealand, as though too many sweet potatoes were a possibility.  All that really amounts to is a bowl filled with sweet potato that's been drenched in a healthy honey mustard dressing, which I don't have to share.

As with all potato salads, it's important to dress your vegetables while they're still hot so they fully absorb the flavors.  I've eaten this chilled, straight out of the bowl in which it was refrigerated, as well as closer to room temperature.  Both are very good.  Enjoy! 

Healthy Sweet Potato Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Not much adopted from Canyon Ranch Cooking

2 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1/4 cup vegetable stock

1/2 teaspoon capers

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

1 1/2 teaspoons honey

1 1/4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and spread the sweet potato cubes out in one layer.  Bake the potatoes for 30 minutes, until tender.  The time may vary according to the heat of your oven and the size of your potato chunks.  

Mix all of the other ingredients together, then toss with the still warm sweet potatoes.  Refrigerate for 1 hour until chilled, then serve.

Shakshuka, Israeli Baked Eggs with Vegetables

Is there a more natural paring than eggs and tomatoes?  Pairs that get along as well, to be sure. But when eggs and tomatoes play together, their affinity is so natural and mutual they epitomize the prefect, easy going relationship.  And the combination seems to pop up everywhere.  In Turkey, they have their menemen, a dish where eggs are scrambled with peppers, tomatoes, onion and olives, and in Latin America there's huevos rancheros, where eggs, either scrambled or fried, and swimming in a kind of warm salsa are heaped onto corn tortillas.  

In Israel, eggs and tomatoes commonly make their paired appearance as shakshouka. When making this dish, resist the temptation to use your garlic press and hand chop all of those cloves.  The chunky, handmade texture is one of its most appealing features. 

Traditionally, the eggs are baked right in the skillet in which the tomato mixture has been cooked.  In this variation, I've finished them off in the oven, each egg luxuriating in its own single-serving ramekin as it firms to a just-poached consistency.  I like my eggs just poached so that the yolk can be released from its thin sheath with just a flick of the fork, spilling in and over the waiting tomatoes below.  The best possible consummation.

Shakshuka

Adopted from Canyon Ranch Cooking

Olive oil for the pan

5 medium garlic cloves, sliced or roughly chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

3 medium tomatoes, chopped (don't bother seeding or peeling)

2 medium tomatoes, sliced

1 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon fresh thyme

1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

4 eggs

Crusty bread for serving

Heat both the oil and the garlic together, until the garlic becomes fragrant and begins to sizzle. Add the onion and the paprika for about 3 minutes, until the onion is well coated.

Add the chopped tomatoes, the pepper, the red pepper flakes, cumin, salt, pepper, thyme and basil.  Turn the heat down to low or medium-low so that the mixture simmers lightly.  Cook for 30 minutes until everything is softened.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Place 4 ramekins on a cookie sheet.  Put tomato slices in the bottom of each of 4 ramekins and spoon the cooked mixture over the top.  Break an egg into each of the 4 ramekins and bake for about 25 minutes, until the eggs are just set.  Watch your eggs closely, as oven differ.  In my oven it took 25 minutes, but it could take less or more for you.

Serve right away with crusty bread to dunk.

P.S. I didn't get to my Recipes to Rival challenge this month.  Mostly because I always save it for the last second, I've been sick and because my kitchen is just too small (and, I have a feeling, my apartment too easily incinerated) to be playing with fire.  But I'll be back next month with something that's sure to be spectacular, at least in theory.

P.S.  This is one spicy dish, by the way.  I personally wouldn't have it any other way.  But be warned.  This is no stroll through a springtime garden.  More of a mad dash in the hot summer sun!

Spinach and Strawberry Salad with a Healthy, Spicy Curried Date Dressing

This salad is a mouthful in every sense of the term.  As the title stretches to accommodate as many descriptors as I can fit in, my lips are still tingling with the last drops of dressing.  Sometimes, even usually, salads aren't known for filling up much of anything.  But this thick, spicy dressing really wakes up the tongue on a dreary, rainy spring day such as this.  Good thing, too, because the sky is so low that the middling, wanna-be sky scrapers which I can see from my window manage to reach all the way up, like Himalayan mountains crowned by cotton. 

So even if outside the weather is insisting on April showers, a salad of strawberries and baby spinach helps to bring back some of the magic of spring.  And when  you combine dates with curry, you're left with a thick sauce, more than a dressing, with a real kick from raw onion.  This is not the sort of thing with which you want to douse.  A few dots on your spinach leaves, enough so that each bite bursts into contrasts of sweet strawberry and spicy dressing.  And with minimal oil to boot.

I've used only strawberries and spinach here, but you could dress it up a bit with chopped nuts or raisins or substitute apples or, really, anything you like.  It is only a salad, after all.  And anyway, when you've gone to the (very minimal) trouble of making your own dressing, even a few handfuls of leaves and a bit of fruit seems special.  

Salad of Spinach and Strawberries with a Healthy, Spicy Curried Date Dressing

Dressing adopted from Canyon Ranch Cooking

1 bag of baby spinach

Strawberries, sliced

For the dressing

8 ounces pitted dates, chopped

1 small union, preferably a sweet variety like vidalia, chopped 

2 tablespoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup canola oil

Dump all of the ingredients for the dressing, except the oil, into a blender or food processor.  Blend or process for about 1 minute.  Add the dressing, with the machine still on, in a thin stream until well incorporated.  Serve over a mélange of spinach, strawberries and whatever else strikes your fancy.

Pea and Mint Risotto Cakes with Feta

Normally when you think of repurposing leftover risotto, arancini, those little fried balls of day-old risotto coated in bread-crumbs, come to mind.  But it's a rare day when I feel compelled to fry anything, and the inspiration for these little baked cakes comes instead from Ilva at Lucullian Delights and her recent Soft Rice Cakes with Onion, Goat's Cheese and Thyme.  Ilva cooks a risotto rice specifically for the purpose, but I decided to use her brilliant idea of shaping cooked rice (in my case, risotto already flavored with peas and mint) into little patties to be baked.

I simply topped my risotto cakes, once they had been brushed with the slightest hint of olive oil, with a few crumbles of feta.  The rice baked up crispy on the edges, and if there's anything better than cheese baked to a brown crustiness, I don't know about it.  R liked the risotto made this way even better than its initial incarnation.  After a day in the fridge, the flavors had intensified, to leave us with something so much better than merely leftovers.

Pea and Mint Risotto Cakes with Feta

Leftover pea and mint risotto

olive oil

feta

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Lightly grease a baking sheet.  Place a circular cookie cutter on the baking sheet and fill with risotto.  Mash the risotto down a bit with the back of a spoon so you're left with a fairly dense patty of about 2" in thickness.  Carefully remove the ring, and top your patties with a bit of the feta.  Repeat as needed until you've used up all of your leftover risotto.

Bake in the oven for about 8 - 10 minutes, until warmed through.  Then place under the broiler for about 2 minutes, in order to brown the cheese.  Transfer the cakes to a plate and serve.