かぼちゃの Casserole

Greetings fellow foodgoers. I know many of you have been eager to know what I did with my kabocha squash from the farmers market. Rest assured I indeed found a use for it. It has been merely a matter of posting the results of this use that has taken considerable time.

Having concocted many recipes from the Lee Brother's tome of Southern cooking, cleverly entitled The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook, I decided to rely on them for some guidance with my winter squash. Their recipe for Winter Squash Casserole can be executed with any number of winter squash varieties, but I found the kabocha to work exceptionally well here in a Southern application given its natural sweet and nutty inklings.



While any squash is typically hard to prepare, I found that using a spoon to remove the fleshy and stringy or seedy center made quick work of the kabocha and allowed the perfect amount of time to get a nice salty pot of water to come to a boil. The addition of my favorite sausage, a Whole Foods variety "pork pesto," lightly browned and sliced thick added a great smoky, herbaceous flavor that almost made this casserole a standalone meal.

Here's what you'll need:

about 3 1/2 lbs. winter squash (I used kabocha of course), peeled and cut up into bite-sized pieces
5 T unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
1 T extra-virgin olive oil
3 C chopped yellow onion (about 2 large)
1 C whole or low-fat buttermilk (if you find whole buttermilk, let me know where you find it!)
2 large eggs
2 1/2 t minced fresh thyme
1/2 C bread crumbs, of course home made is always best
3/4 t kosher salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1/4 C pumpkin seeds or pecans, toasted
2 C coarsely grated cheddar cheese (6 ounces)

1) Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter a 9" x 13" baking dish.

2) Place 3 quarts of water in a large stockpot and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the prepared squash, return to a boil, and then cook for six minutes. Drain and set aside.

3) Melt the butter in the stockpot and add the oil. Add the onions and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent and limp, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring to prevent browning. Add the warm squash and the buttermilk, eggs, thyme, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, 1/2 of the pumpkin seeds/pecans, 1 1/3 C cheese. Blend until well combined. (At this point you can add a pound or so of seared, golden brown sausage to the mix--just make sure to take out an equivalent amount of squash so you don't crowd the casserole dish)

4) Spread the mixture in the baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the remaining cheese and pumpkin seeds/pecans over the top of the casserole and bake 15 minutes more until cheese bubbles and top is golden brown.


I definitely grated a bit of parm on top. Sometimes its nutty brilliance is quite hard to resist.


Keep it classy, y'all!

<3 Davey

Cheese Party!

Last weekend my roommate and I hosted a wine and cheese party and I, of course, was put in charge of the cheese.. Oh, by the way, I LOVE CHEESE.

My favorite place to get cheese is Murray's Cheese on Bleecker. It is the most magical place ever--incredible descriptions of the cheese, a mind boggling array of cheeses, sandwiches, meats, and the smell is intoxicating!

The best part of being the person who buys the cheese is tasting them before you buy them. There are a few cheeses that are sold individually as squares or pucks that you can't taste, but that's part of the adventure, non? Gouda, cheddar, parmesean--soooo passé. I want to buy only the cheeses that I have never tried before and that my guests have never tried. One should bear in mind, however, that some palates can be...unsophisticated...close minded...? Is there a kinder word for the unadventurous? In any case, I bought the cheese for a cheese party a couple years ago and I went to Murray's and bought a bunch of unknown cheeses and by the end of the evening, everyone only tried each cheese once and that was it. I was stuck with the rest of the cheese plate with no one else to help me eat it, not that's a bad thing, but, you know, too much of a good thing... Anyways, lesson kind of learned because some of my cheeses had more left over than I would have liked, even though I tried to buy more accessible and less stinky/crazy cheeses. I guess you can't please everyone. A good guideline for buying cheese for a cheese plate is "something old, something new, something stink and something blue":

Here's a breakdown of what I bought and the Murray's description:

Ewephoria Sheep Milk Gouda

The punny name that only makes sense in English should give it away: this cheese was invented for the American market's infamous sweet tooth. Presumptuous--if only the butterscotch sweet, nutty result wasn't so gosh darn successful. And there's an upside to a focused market: the single producer of pasteurized milk is much smaller than most export sources--the farmer's wife posits that the sheep eat better than her children on lush pasture surrounded by a nature preserve. The crunchy stuff makes a blissful snack with drinks like Sherry or Porter and is delicious melted on pies or dessert breads.

La Tur

From the great wine region of Piedmont comes La Tur: a dense, creamy blend of pasteurized cow, goat and sheep milk. Runny and oozing around the perimeter with a moist, cakey, palette-coating paste, its flavor is earthy and full with a lingering lactic tang. the effect is like ice cream served from a warm scoop: decadent and melting from the outside in. An ideal regional paring would be sparkling Asti Spumante; effervescence will whisk away the richness while matching the mild acidity. We recommend you get back-up: La Tur is always the first to go at a party.

Pont l'Eveque Tradition

These plump and rosy tiles have been toted by townspeople in Normandy since the 12th century. The cool, misty climate is the perfect setting for the robust, often pungent flavor of this brine-washed cow's milk cheese. These are pasteurized for export, but you won't miss any of the authentic complexity or charm: a skillful adaptation of the recipe, using carefully blended cultures, has retained both. Slice up with apples for a restorative snack or smear on dark bread with cider or Calvados for an after dinner treat.

Fourme d'Ambert, Affinage

Raw cow's milk is gathered from the Auvergne region of France to create this signature "fourme" or "tall cylinder" of mild blue cheese. You won't find the metallic punch of Roquefort here due to the difference in cultures: Penecillum roqueforti is the namesake mold that causes bite and spice, whereas d'Ambert is laced with P. glaucum--more often found in Italy's balanced, creamy Gorgonzolas. The result is a rich, velvety treat that will win over blue-weary guests with its gentle, earthy pungency and relative sweetness. One of the few blues suitable for lighter reds. Aged by Herve Mons outside of Roanne.

The favorites of the evening were La Tur (they're not kidding when they say it's like ice cream. Serve it up with some baguette and brace yourself) and Ewephoria (Gouda--reliable, creamy, tasty). I especially liked Fourme d'Ambert and La Tur. Pont l'Eveque is good, mild--not as stinky as I thought it would be...sadly..--but the rind is too thick and it's better cut off. It's also good for melting. Trying to finish it off these past few days, I found it particularly fun/tasty to put a little slice on a piece of baguette and nuke it for a few seconds so it gets all melted and the you can taste the flavor better too. Fourme d'Ambert (the poor thing wasn't finished at the party) the blue--I have been putting it on my sandwiches: baguette spread with homemade mayo, spread on some of the cheese, mixed greens, a slice of black forest ham and it is quite excellent, if I do say so myself.

I hope this has inspired you to try some not your run of the mill cheeses!

love, Patty

the miracle of mayo and the brilliance of braised beef

The other night I had some leftover wine in the apartment and it needed to be used quickly, so I decided to make some braised beef with it.

In a skillet over medium high heat with 2tsp olive oil, brown on all sides 1.5lb beef chuck cut into 1 1/2 in chunks in as many batches as necessary and put into a dutch oven/braising dish. Pour off most of the fat and lightly brown 1 onion cut into quarters, 4 cloves pierced into each onion quarter, 2 carrots cut into 2in pieces, 1tsp dried thyme, 2 sprigs parsley then put into dutch oven with the beef.

Raise the heat and pour in 1c white wine or 1 3/4 c red wine and simmer until reduced to 1/2 or 2/3, respectively. Be sure to scrape up all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Pour into dutch oven. Add 1 can crushed tomatoes, 1 head of garlic coarsely chopped, 1 strip orange zest, 2 c beef stock.

Cover the pot tightly and cook at a bare simmer or in a 325 oven for 2-3 hours until tender.

I accidentally bought cilantro instead of parsley, but had I some flat leaf parsley, I would have chopped it up with come garlic and sprinkled it on top. I've been eating my leftovers with fettuccini, but the first night I made it, I ate it with baguette, which is the better way to eat it because it soaks up all those fabulous juices.

Improvements: trim off as much of the connective tissue as possible. I don't cook meat that often and I was hoping it would just dissolve into the broth, which it does to a point, but it's still kind of flabby and soft to me and I prefer just the purely textured meat without the extra jigglyness.

MAYO

My roommate and I had a cheese party the day before and we had a considerable amount of cheese leftover. She doesn't eat blue cheese and that was one of the big hunks we had left (Fourme d'Ambert--an excellent, not soapy blue cheese. I had never really ventured out into blue territory before, but with the occasion of the party, I thought it was necessary to have one atop the cheese board and this was an excellent choice.). So, I decided to make a sandwich with it, and I've been hearing a bunch of Frenchmen talk about the wonders of making your own mayo in the past week (my Molecular Cell Biology professor, and this French guy in Brooklyn who was on the Food Networks "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" making a BLT (Ted Allen's fave thing with bacon)) and I really wanted to try it, I don't usually use mayo, but what better occasion than a sandwich to make your own?

So, I woke up early-ish Monday morning and whisked 1 egg yolk with 1/2 tsp water, a pinch o' salt and 1c olive oil. What the F? It has the consistency of salad dressing! But I whisked it vigorously and was relatively slow about it...I think!...?!?! Well, Alice Waters's "The Art of Simple Food" told me not to fret and to use another egg yolk and SLOWLY whisk in the broken mayo. This time I was uber careful about it (so much so that it took me 15 minutes...but I didn't want to waste another egg yolk!) and it turned thick quickly and my arm got a light work out. Marvelous. It's a light yellow-green color--that's the olive oil talking; that's what mayo is: spreadable oil. Sound gross? Well, I think it's pretty brilliant, actually, because what do people spread on their bread at restaurants? Butter. Now, is mayo really that different? It's better for you than butter--less saturated fat, and you don't need it to come to room temp in order to get it to a spreadable consistency (somewhat shamefully, I have been spreading it on a piece of bread and eating it plain.. HEY! I dip my bread in straight olive oil all the time and that's my favorite way of eating bread. Mayo is less mess and I made this mayo with my own hands!). The oil is really showcased here, so use an extra virgin olive oil--one that you like the flavor of. I used Trader Joe's olive oil, but I like their stuff and am but a humble student, but I would say don't be afraid to use a nicer olive oil and venture out to some flavored oils too if you have the money.

The lesson: Don't buy that flavorless, lord knows what's in them jar mayo. If you have an egg, a good oil, and a whisk there are no excuses.

Love,

Patty

Yesterday's Dinner and Today's Leftovers

Yesterday I went to Whole Foods for the first time since I've been back in New York and I bought:

- two 14oz cans Muir Glen Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes

- one 14oz can 365 garbanzo beans

- one head garlic

- one medium shallot

- 365 whole wheat linguini

- four navel oranges

- one organic seduction roll

- Noi Sirius Icelandic Chocolate 70%

The oranges and "organic seduction" roll are just for eating because I like them, but I used all the tomatoes, garbanzos, shallot, linguini and garlic (3 cloves, not a whole head...) in a very tasty pasta.

I sliced the shallots and chopped the garlic and lightly fried them in olive oil, then added the garbanzos (drained) and sauteed for 5 minutes or so (in hopes of infusing the beans with garlicky flavor. and don't forget the salt). Then I added the tomatoes and a couple shakes of crushed red pepper flakes and simmered until reduced. All the while, I boiled my pasta. Voila, pasta sauce in 20 minutes or so, with plenty for today's dinner and beyond. It's also a nice idea to drizzle some olive oil over the top when you're plating.

Improvements: add fresh herbs (parsley, oregano, or thyme would be nice) parmigianno reggiano; some ground meat would also be good...

Along with my dinner, I had a lovely Boucheron cheese. Always in the mood to try a new cheese, I chose this one and a very pleased I did...

Boucheron is a famous French cheese made with goat's milk, it has a creamy (ridiculously creamy!!) exterior kind of like brie, but better with less of that brie-like

tang/funk, and the interior is more like your traditional goat cheese, but not as tangy as goat usually is. Personally, I love goat cheese, but many people find it to be too gamey perhaps, but this one would be nice for goat beginners. Give it a go! I ate half of that puck-size disk with my organic seduction roll and couldn't stop!

Lastly, I would like to discuss my Icelandic chocolate. $3.99 for what is literally two bars of chocolate--the richest, most wonderfully textured dark chocolate--stacked upon one another. I of course love my Valrhona, but I couldn't find this stuff in California. Also, Valrhona doesn't break into such tidy 1x2cm squares, nor is it such a fabulous deal. If you can get your hands on this stuff, GET IT!!!

-Patty

p.s. navel oranges are in season. thin membrane, juicy, orange-y...need I say more?

It's cocktail time!

Yep. A Sandra Lee tagline. While it's a tad passé, I needed to share this recipe with the world. It's a sweet departure from the ordinary--one taste will surely say why. I came upon this formula entirely by accident. I wanted to make something with my Maker's Mark, and I have so many lemons from the farmer's market I went to over the weekend. It's got firm citrus notes and a strong slug from the bourbon. Here goes:

Meyer Monster

1 shot meyer lemon simple syrup (boil 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water in a saucier with the grated zest of 1 meyer lemon until sugar has completely dissolved and bubbles are just beginning to form)
1 shot bourbon whiskey
1/2 shot Cointreau
1/2 shot freshly-squeezed lemon juice

Shake ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and pour into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a ribbon of lemon peel. Makes 1 Meyer Monster.

Ode to a rainy Sunday farmer's market

As I mentioned in the previous post, it's been a rainy couple of days here in the Bay Area. But it was a Sunday, and I've been meaning to go to the farmer's market for a while. These poor vendors are out in the rain! The least I could do was buy their produce.

Here's what I found! A veritable winter cornucopia.

Collard greens


Well if I'm going to have a play on words with these lovely greens as the blog title, I better show what I can do with them!

Meyer lemons


Now that they're in season, I'm going to use them while I can. I'm thinking I've got the perfect recipe for lemon sorbet, so why not go Meyer?

Sweet potaters


It's been a while since I've cooked up a sweet potato pie, that's for sure. These looked good. While most sweet potatoes I find at supermarkets are so gargantuan, these looked small. I'm hoping for more flavor out of these little 'uns.

Kabocha pumpkins


After having an ok winter squash casserole earlier this winter, I'm hoping that these Japanese pumpkins can help me kick it up a notch.

Pink Lady apples


Vendor: These apples are perfect for pie.
Me: Sold.
'nuff said.

So stay tuned for the end products of these fabulous pieces of produce. It's sure to be a lively few days of cooking!

Stay classy, y'all!

<3 David

Rainy Day Food

Oh dear. It's a rainy, wintry day. What ever is a home chef to do? Beef stroganoff of course! Start with a creme fraiche base, some paprika and spices. Throw in some sauteed mushrooms, onions, and beef and you've got yourself a remedy for the rainy day blues. Ain't nothing more comforting, warming and filling than this stew. It's definitely one of my personal favorites that I've been making for years--summer, spring, winter, or fall! This recipe comes from the Silver Palate cookbook, with my suggestions in italics.

Here we go!

3 c creme fraiche (mix 1 1/2 c of sour cream and 1 1/2 c heavy cream in a bowl and cover overnight)
1 1/2 T Dijon mustard
3 T tomato paste
3 T Worcestershire sauce
2 t imported sweet paprika
3/4 t salt
fresh-ground black pepper to taste
1 t demiglace (this is basically way concentrated stock, and can be found at Whole Foods or at a specialty grocer)
1 lb firm white mushrooms (I find that crimini mushrooms contribute more flavor to the dish)
10 T butter, unsalted
24 pearl onions (red or white are fine)
3 lbs beef tips (I've used almost everything from sirloin to London Broil)
chopped fresh Italian parsley for garnish

Combine the creme fraiche, mustard, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, salt, pepper, and demiglace in a medium-sized saucepan and simmer slowly until the sauce is slightly reduced, 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, while completing the recipe.


I used my Cusinart immersion blender, or as I call it, my disco stick. It's a rock star in the kitchen when I want sauces or dressings as smooth as possible. Stay tuned to see the disco stick's many other appendages!

Trim the stem ends off the mushrooms and discard. (I like to leave them on!) Wipe the mushrooms with a damp cloth and slice thinly. Melt three tablespoons of the butter in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté until tender and golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and reserve.



Cut a small "X" in the root end of each pearl onion. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and drop in the onions. Blanch for 10 minutes, drain, and rinse under cold water. Peel the onions.



Melt another 2 tablespoons of the butter in the same skillet over medium-low heat and sauté the onions until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the onions to the bowl with the mushrooms.


(Aren't they pretty? Such great coloring!)

Cut the meat into thin slices on the diagonal. Melt remaining butter (5 T) in the skillet and sauté the pieces of fillet over high heat until just lightly browned, 3 or 4 minutes. Transfer the pieces to a plate as each batch is browned.



To complete, set the creme fraiche sauce over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Add the mushrooms, onions, and any accumulated juices from the bowl, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the fillet slices and any accumulated juices and simmer until the meat is just heated through, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately, with chopped parsley.



I served the dish with some sauteed cherry tomatoes and buttered egg noodles. While the cherry tomatoes are wonderful, I strongly recommend the egg noodles. The way they pick up the sauce from the stroganoff is simply divine!

Keep it classy, y'all!

<3 David