Brussels sprouts with bacon and maple butter

Monday, December 1, 2014

Thanksgiving has come and gone, but let’s keep Brussels sprouts on our radar, shall we?

Festive food has its rightful place through the end of December, at which point I’ll divert my attention to a juice cleanse. Last year’s vegan attempt was a sorry excuse for a nutritional overhaul. It’s not that vegan diets don’t work – it just didn’t work for me. Rather than cooking up a rainbow of colors, I regressed to the land of beige and ate like a toddler, stuffing my mouth with hummus and crackers.

Let’s postpone any thoughts of January. It’s December 1, we’re in the last month of the year, my daughter’s birthday month, of which she’s well aware. The Winter Solstice is on its way; come December 22 the days will start to lengthen and we’re off to the races towards Summer.

It’s one of my favorite months. I turn on my holiday Pandora station for 31 straight days, and bask in the kitchen glory of making healthy foods unhealthy.

Take Brussels sprouts. The butt of snide jokes amongst the under-10 set because according to many, they’re a little too healthy.

I have a fix for that kids, it’s called bacon and butter. And not just any butter – Vermont Creamery carries a maple butter that was unquestionably ideated, cultured, and manufactured in Heaven. I used it to finish my barley risotto a few weeks ago, and I’m using it again here with Brussels.

On the stalk, mind you. If you can find them on the stalk, they’re likely to be fresher, and have the added benefit of reducing a prep step. Yes, you still have to pull off some of the outer leaves, but when you pull a sprout right off the stalk, you don’t have to trim the browning ends. Loose sprouts are fine too, just make sure that they’re firm and bright green.

If you don’t have maple butter on hand, don’t panic. You can easily finish the dish with a pat of butter and some pure maple syrup.

What you must, must, must use is good quality bacon. Thick cut – the kind that holds its shape when you cook it and doesn’t melt down into something the size of a Crest Whitestrip. That is not good bacon. Oscar Mayer may have a cute Wienermobile, but he does not make good bacon.

I cook my sprouts simply, making sure that they don’t overcook. To do this, I add some white wine, little by little, alternating with more bacon grease to build up flavor and color.

If I don’t add liquid, I find that by the time the interior of the Brussels sprouts are cooked to my liking, the outer leaves are overdone and starting to taste like cabbage. I often serve my kids food that’s been cooked with a little alcohol like gravy or beef stew – most of the alcohol cooks out anyway. But if you want to keep the alcohol out of your dish, just replace the wine with water.

9 comments

Savory

Delicata squash

Sunday, November 30, 2014

We’ve been eating a lot of squash these days, in every shape, form and color. Blue Hubbard, Golden Acorn, dark green Kabocha, and this season’s runaway hit with the farm-to-table crowd, Delicata. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a resounding success with the kids. Kinda gooey, and let’s be honest, sometimes it’s more fun to talk about robots than vegetables.

ME: Guys, I mentioned that there’s something special about this kind of squash.

SAM: It’s a gourd.

ME: No, it’s not a gourd.

SAM: You said that it was a gourd.

ME: It’s not a gourd. And we’re going to have to look up the difference between a squash and a gourd. But, there’s something special about this squash. First of all, do you know the name?

SAM: Mmm mmm…

EMMA: Can you clean the Kleenex box?

ME: Yeah, I’ll wipe it down.

SAM: Micro Pods?

ME: It’s not called Micro Pods.

SAM: Micro Bots!

ME: Nope. It’s called Delicata.

SAM: Delicata? I said that because I saw it in Big Hero.

ME: This kind of squash?

SAM: No. No. Um…there’s this thing called a…

ME: A squash?

SAM: …the… um… Micro Bots.

ME: Yeah.

SAM: They’re like little tiny robots…

4 comments

CSA

Bialas Farms CSA: Week 17

Monday, October 20, 2014

It’s getting down to the wire….this is the second-to-last CSA wrap-up post and as I promised earlier, there are NO raw tomatoes, only some beautiful Fall dishes that required a hot stove and a hotter oven.

Here are the goods that I received this week from our friends at Bialas Farms:

Butternut Squash
Broccoli
Garlic
Baby Bell Peppers
Sweet Corn
Green Beans
Zucchini
Popcorn
White Lady Turnips
Tomatoes
Lettuce

The first thing I did when I got back from the market is send the baby heirlooms into the oven for a nice long blast of scorching hot air. Which blistered them and added some extra sweetness….

One of my Mom’s favorite pasta dishes uses a raw tomato, brie, basil and garlic sauce – you simply marinate the ingredients for half an hour before tossing the whole thing with just-cooked noodles.

In my effort to give this dish a Fall twist, I used the roasted tomatoes as the foundation, whose heat softened the garlic’s usual bite. Both pasta dishes are great, but this one seems more appropriate for crisper temps…

Normally I don’t use spaghetti in the dish – penne and other tubular pasta shapes work well to catch the sauce, but beggars can’t be choosers. My pantry at the lake is looking pretty thin as we continue to work our way through much of our Summer stash.

And what could be more enjoyable than cooking dinner with a glass of wine, and a friendly helper. Who isn’t really helping at all but keeping you company with endless chatter about school friends and planned Lego constructions…She’s also good at sneaking bites of those crisp and flavorful Bialas Farms green beans that have been blanched for only a minute or two to retain both flavor and crunch.

To make the roasted tomato and brie pasta:

Halve a quart or more of baby heirloom or cherry tomatoes and place, cut side down along with a few sprigs of thyme, on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with s&p and roast at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or more, depending on the size of your tomatoes. The tomatoes should be slightly charred and soft, but not falling apart when you remove them from the oven.

Set aside to cool slightly while you prep the remaining ingredients. Take a wheel of Brie (approx. 8 oz) and trim any hard white parts (although much of the white edge can remain). Place in a large bowl and grate 1 large clove of garlic into the bowl. Toss the brie and garlic with a few big glugs of olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper. Scatter some cleaned and torn basil leaves (about a handful), and when the tomatoes have cooled slightly, toss in the tomatoes.

Next bring a large pot of salted water to boil and then cook your pasta until al dente – any shape will work, but tubular/shell shapes work best. Toss the pasta with the sauce, and serve with a grating of parmesan cheese.

If you’ve been reading this blog you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of chili. Vegetarian, vegan, full ‘o beef, you name it and I’ve made it. I had a great time testing out Tim Love’s authentic Texas chili last year, and while this version doesn’t have the same range of spices, it takes a quarter of the time to prepare. The ingredients are simple, the kind of vegetables and spices that you’ll likely have on hand, making it a 30-minute meal that will impress even the most ardent of chili fans.

Like the posole that I made last week, I reached for my seemingly endless stash of CSA peppers – poblano, jalapeno, and the slender and mild cubanelles. The chili gets a hit of flavor some bubbles too – in this case a hoppy IPA which I always keep stocked in my fridge. The best part of any soup or stew, in my most humble opinion, is the garnish. A squeeze of lime, sour cream, cilantro, and shredded Monterrey Jack (“Modern Jack” to my kids, in their mind, a perfect accompaniment to chips and “Mock ‘n Mole”.)

To make the beef, bean and 3-pepper chili:

In a medium sautee pan, brown 1 lb of ground beef in vegetable oil until the pink is no longer visible. Remove the beef and drain most of the fat, leaving about a tablespoon or two. While the beef is cooking, dice a medium onion (to make about a cup) and a few types of peppers – I used a mix of poblano, jalapeno and cubanelle – altogether they formed about 2 cups.

Once the beef has been removed from the pot, add the vegetables and sweat until translucent (approx. 10 minutes). Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and a mix of spices – I used a half Tablespoon each of cumin, coriander, oregano, and chili powder. Cook the spices for a minute before adding back the beef, along with 1 14-oz can of tomato sauce, and 1 28-can of whole peeled tomatoes. Add a half bottle of beer (anything will work as long as it’s not too dark), and bring the whole chili to a simmer.

Simmer the chili for approximately 15 minutes (or longer) to blend the flavors, and when done, crush the tomatoes lightly with a potato masher to make sure that you don’t end up with large tomato pieces. Add a can of drained and rinsed black beans, and cook for 5 minutes more to heat through. Serve with any garnish you like or have on hand – sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, cilantro, all work well.

Now the next dish may not appear at first blush to look like your standard CSA dish (where are the vegetables?) but if you peek under all of that oozy cream and cheese sauce, you’ll find a measly effort to work through my pile of cipollini onions. Typically I don’t include onions in my macaroni and cheese – I tend to use more of a straight-up roux + cheese sauce, but since I’m making an effort to use my weekly vegetables, in went the cipollini onions, finely-diced of course.

Another question you may ask is “why is there a lobster tail in this image?” The answer is not as straightforward. I made the macaroni and cheese for the kids last weekend, with Lauren yanking at my sleeve and begging (groveling?) for a homemade version, not that boxed stuff. Which, with full disclosure, I do stock in my pantry for emergencies only (e.g. a potential Sunday morning hangover causes me to trip over the previous evening’s clothes, knocking me unconscious and forcing Rodney into lunch duties). So I made mac ‘n cheese. And apparently the stinky Gruyere that I added at the last minute isn’t a kid favorite. As such, I was left with a giant crusty pan of the stuff. I hate, hate, hate to throw food away, so rather than pitch the extra, I dutifully whittled away at the dish each day, watching the remaining portion get smaller and smaller.

By day 3 I’d had enough mac ‘n cheese, heavenly Gruyere notwithstanding, so I had to kick up the flavor profile to make it palatable enough to finish off once and for all. I was at Whole Foods that morning and spotted some lobster tail and tossed it into my cart. If I can give you one piece of advice about leftovers, it would be to make it into a different meal: all of a sudden it’s new again. Lobster tail, tarragon, 3-day old macaroni and cheese, done, spiked, dish scrubbed, mission accomplished.

To make the macaroni and cheese with lobster and tarragon:

I used a recipe similar to the one written on Martha Stewart’s website—if you’re making with lobster and tarragon, make sure to mix in the lobster and tarragon before adding your breadcrumb topping and baking.

To poach the lobster tails, bring a medium pot of water to a boil, and add in your lobster tails, cooking, covered, for 8 minutes. When the lobster is done, remove, let cool, and then using a pair of poultry shears, cut open the tail to release the meat. Chop the meat and set aside, while you chop some tarragon sprigs (you’ll need about a tablespoon). Stir into your macaroni and cheese, top with breadcrumbs, and bake at 350 degrees, uncovered for 30 minutes or until the top is golden.

It wouldn’t be a Fall week without another attempt at some kind of apple dish. I still had a ton of Granny Smith apples left over from our trip to Heaven Hill Farm and was searching for a recipe.

I’ve been on a quest to learn more about Gluten Free cooking since I have a sneaking suspicion that wheat has been exacerbating Lauren’s eczema. In addition to her skin issues, she’s been complaining recently of stomach aches, particularly after eating what she refers to as “party foods” – pizza, cupcakes, etc. Gluten has become a popular villain, and while I don’t mean to jump on the bandwagon, I thought that it might make sense to dip my toe into the world of Gluten-Free baking. Our appointment with the allergist is in a few weeks, so until then, I’ll continue to adjust to the thought of de-glutenizing should that not-so-welcome event happen in the not-so-distant future.

One book that piqued my interest is called “Flourless” and is written by Nicole Spiridakis, author of the blog Cucina Nicolina.

3 comments

CSA

Bialas Farms CSA: Week 14

Monday, September 29, 2014

Another vividly-hued box of produce arrived on my doorstep last week. Not quite on my doorstep – it’s a 15-minute drive to pick up my box in Ringwood but it’s always worth the effort.

Just take a look at what was in store…..

I took that picture for Edible Manhattan magazine whose Instagram feed I hosted last week. Edible is the place to find out about local eats; if you haven’t been reading the magazine, you can learn more about it here.

In this week’s box, Bialas Farms provided:

Tomatoes
Spaghetti Squash
Kirby Cucumbers
Red Peppers
Curly Kale
Russet Bakers
Green Beans
Garlic
Spinach
Lettuce

You know what comes first in these CSA posts….

It wouldn’t be a proper CSA post without kicking things off with some sort of salad. I just love eating a whole bunch of vegetables, piled on a plate and garnished with some torn pieces of fresh mozzarella.

In this dish we ate a mix of heirloom tomatoes, sliced Kirby cukes, corn (FYI I’m still using that microwave technique that I talked about it previous weeks), and blanched green beans. The softer herbs from my herb garden have sadly turned into spindly stick figures of their former selves and although I love rosemary for baking and roasting, I don’t love the woody herbs for salad-making. Maybe I’ll challenge myself next week to find some way to incorporate them into salads because I do love herbs on a salad like this; I missed them. But it was delicious nonetheless.

I had another salad later in the week which was kind of revolutionary in its simplicity. I usually stick to Italian, Greek and Middle-Eastern influences when I’m making my salads, but here I went with Spanish flavors. I sliced a large yellow heirloom and piled a big ball of torn burrata in the middle. Yes, I know it’s an Italian cheese, but stick with me for a moment.

I dusted the whole thing with smoked paprika, and scattered some smoked Maldon salt over the top. I drizzled the salad with a good Spanish olive oil and some aged Sherry vinegar. It was just enough of a flavor tweak to make my usual tomato + burrata cheese feel fresh and new. I’m already thinking of future iterations – fried bits of chorizo? Roasted smoked paprika chickpeas? Marcona almonds? A punchy aged Manchego? (and for the record, that’s ManchEGO, not ManchENGO, a common mistake that I made until a kindhearted soul corrected me a few years ago.)

Things got a little weird with this number, which is your standard tomato panzanella (bread salad) topped with some quick-pickled zucchini, peppers and corn.

Play with your salads. It’s safe, healthy, inexpensive, creative – what more can you ask of your vegetables right?

Another way to play: soups.

I know that half of the Internet is out there talking about the joy of Fall – the sweaters, the leaves, the Honeycrisp apples. Let me join this big lovefest by proclaiming that I, too, am smitten with the season. Let me tell you a little more about what I’ve been making in the soup department.

Faced with an abundance of heirloom tomatoes and feeling like I can’t stare another sliced raw tomato in the eye, I cooked them into submission and made this: Heirloom tomato bisque with Saint Andre waffled grilled cheese sandwiches on the side.

It was every ounce as decadent as it sounds, and I highly recommend that you give this combination a try. The Saint Andre oozes out of the sandwiches as they grill in the iron and you’re left with a sweet/tart/earthy soup with the best darn soldiers in the business.

8 comments

CSA

Bialas Farms CSA: Week 12

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Happy September everyone! Although we’re two weeks into the month, I feel like I’ve been playing catch-up given our late August travel and the start of the school year. Which technically should take some childcare off of my plate, but given school adjustment periods, has actually made things more challenging.

After missing last week’s box, it was nice to get back into the CSA game again, with a brand new delivery from our friends at Bialas Farms. Here’s a quick snapshot of what I picked up this week:

Broccoli
Lettuce
Leeks
Tomatoes
Red Komatsuna
Baby Eggplant
Celery
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Red Peppers
Garlic

In addition to the Bialas box, I got my other box of gorgeous artisanal ingredients from Hatchery.

Lots to unwrap from the beautiful brown packaging this week including: Our Sundae Dates fudge sauce, Red Duck curry ketchup, Bulgogo Asian BBQ sauce, Acala Farms Fresh Cilantro Oil, Liber & Co. Pineapple Gum Syrup, and Gourmegg gourmet seasoning for the well-dressed egg.

A good week for cooking, so let’s talk about breakfast.

We came back from our week of travel feeling thick-in-the-middle from a Summer of gluttony + a jam-packed week of restaurant meals.

Although my Summer wardrobe of bathing suits and baggy shorts didn’t hint at any weight gain, my city clothes sure did. I was shocked when I went for my first post-Summer walk and discovered that my comfortable exercise shorts were now skintight and air-suctioned to every curve. It was like someone had played a cruel trick on me and stuffed my closet full of kids’ clothes. Rodney and I resolved to lighten things up in the eating department. As a result of our determination, our first meal back was this: steak ‘n egg breakfast burritos topped with sour cream.