Corn and Vegetable Gratin with Cumin

Back during the holiday season I saw or heard in a news story about some scientific study which found that people tend to be less satisfied with gifts that they pick out for themselves; preferring the excitement and surprise of a gift chosen by others. I have no doubt that's a true, but just the same I was thrilled to find these individual-sized square gratin dishes under the tree on Christmas morning, even if I had shopped for them, bought them, and wrapped them for myself!

Fast forward 8 months, and I still hadn't used my gratin dishes, at least not for gratins. So imagine my excitement when I came across the NY Times recipe for Corn and Vegetable Gratin with Cumin. Yay! a chance to use my gratin dishes AND the bounty of corn I ended up with from my farm box (mistakenly ordered twice as much as I meant to)

n.o.e.'s notes:

- I made 1/2 recipe in 2 gratin dishes.

- In place of the 1.5 eggs for half the recipe I used one very large duck egg

- Although I was dying to use gruyere, I didn't have any and I did have jarlsburg cheese (1 oz)

- With all that richness, I felt pretty safe using skim milk.

- My garden had some wonderful, sweet red and green anaheim peppers

- I used wild garlic from farm box (bigger but milder cloves)

the verdict:

Although I usually think of "gratins" as dripping with cheese, but this one was more of an egg dish - kind of like crustless quiche. Enough quibbling about semantics! This gratin was delicious, with a Southwestern accent from the cumin and the peppers. I was glad I had such a tasty recipe to inaugurate my gratin dishes...

Stir Fried Tofu

My daughter J.D.E. found this easy recipe for Stir-Fried Tofu in Mark Bittman's big red book How to Cook Everything (it's also in his big green How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and online); we loved the flavors - and the wonderful smell as it cooked! - but found ourselves wishing for some kind of crunchy texture (cashews or peanuts would be great as Bittman suggests in the variations) and a bit more spicy heat, so we'd also add the optional chiles (or red pepper flakes).

Sweet Potato Crescents

I love Dan Lepard. Every Saturday, I check the Guardian How to Bake page to see Dan's recipe of the week. Because of commitments to my baking groups, I don't have the opportunity to bake very many of Dan's sweets. But lucky for me, he is pretty careful to balance the recipes in his baking column - some breads, some desserts, some savory offerings. The coolest thing about Dan is that he runs his own baker's forum, where he will answer questions about any of his recipes, whether from his books or the Guardian column.

A couple of weeks ago, the featured recipe was Sweet Potato Crescents, which was perfect timing as I'd just received some stunning purple sweet potatoes in my farm box order. An added bonus: his recipe is vegan and quite healthy.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- To cook the sweet potatoes, I cubed them and then braised them in the littlest bit of butter and a tablespoon or 2 of water, for around for 5+ minutes, until tender. If you're making this a vegan dish, you'd omit the butter, naturally.


- The crescent dough is made with oil, which was a relief after all the butter pastry that's come my way in the course of in my weekly baking assignments. The dough was sturdy and smooth, and quite elastic. I rolled it to the specified size and cut the rounds of dough. Once cut, the circles immediately sprang back to a smaller size. So then I had to stretch them as I filled and folded them.

- One note of caution: turmeric will stain your skin yellow. We learned this from past experience, and let's just say that the do-it-yourself-facial book is no longer in our house! Wearing kitchen gloves while handling the pastry would help with this risk.

- I ended up with 17 crescents, and the filling and pastry were perfectly matched in quantity - a pleasant surprise!

the verdict:

I loved the vibrant colors and melding of flavors in these little pastries, as well as the speed with which they came together. I topped them with fresh cilantro and chopped tomatoes, which complemented the flavors of the filling very nicely In place of buttery-sinfulness, this pastry delivered spicy-healthfulness.

guacamole

One thing that I prepare often is guacamole. At this point I don't really use a recipe, although I've tried to write down how I make it (which you can find on this post). While I wouldn't say my guac has risen to the level of a "signature dish", it always makes a big hit when I serve it at a gathering. In fact our book group has been known to gather around the guac and chips like sharks coming in for a kill!

Not too long ago Tyler Florence's chicken enchiladas were on the menu (which I posted last time I made them) so I figured I'd make Tyler's guacamole for a change.

n.o.e.'s notes:

The recipe is simple - chop and stir a few things together. I shaded a little to the extra side for all of the add-ins, and skipped the cilantro. My husband has those tastebuds that equate cilantro with soapsuds. I like the taste, and usually sneak some into the recipe, but we had none in the house. Jim was happy that way!

My recipe doesn't have any spices beyond salt and hot peppers, but Tyler's has cumin and chili powder. Even so, his was very mild so I added a pinch of red pepper flakes. If I had any fresh hot chiles I would have added them also.

the verdict:

This was good guac. Very good actually. The seasonings were subtle, but they do give it a warm flavor. Will Tyler's guac replace my usual recipe? I don't think so. Mine tastes brighter and little fresher, with the goodness of the avocado in a starring role. Plus I can make it in my sleep!

I'm sending this over to Tyler Florence Fridays, a weekly roundup of blog posts featuring Tyler's recipes. Check it out and see what's cooking!

Ultimate "Grilled Cheese" Sandwich

The sandwich cooled when I was first photographing it, so I popped it in the microwave for a few seconds. It was warm and melty after that!

As my children - and some of their friends - can testify, I make a mean grilled cheese sandwich. It's not rocket science, really: just use a variety of sliced cheeses, spread the bread with a thin layer of butter, and cook the sandwiches low and slow in a covered frying pan (helps melt the cheese inside).

On the "Ultimate Rainy Day" episode of Tyler's Ultimate on the Food Network, Tyler cooked up an "ultimate grilled cheese" sandwich to accompany "ultimate chicken noodle soup." Now each to his or her respective own, but when I pair soup + sandwich, it's tomato soup + grilled cheese. But I do love chicken soup, so I tried Tyler's version of chicken noodle a few weeks ago. Now it was time for the sandwich.

When you watch the episode or read the recipe for Tyler's Ultimate Grilled Cheese sandwich you can see what a creative mood Tyler was in on that particular rainy day. His sandwich bears as much resemblance to a normal grilled cheese as his chicken meatball tortellini soup bears to regular chicken noodle soup. It is a grilled sandwich, true. And it has cheese inside. But imo when you add things like pesto and sliced tomatoes it veers out of the boundaries of Grilled Cheese Land. No matter, the sandwich sounded great so I prepared it for a meatless dinner on a Friday in Lent, accompanied by a big salad.

n.o.e.'s notes:

- I keep a stash of pesto in my freezer, made with last summer's basil. My pesto recipe is a bit different from the one Tyler features; his has some parsley in addition to basil. If I hadn't been lazy - and if I'd thought about it - I could have stirred some chopped parsley into my pesto before spreading it on the bread.

- I used pre-sliced mozarella cheese because I had some in my fridge.

- I added some sliced gruyere cheese - isn't everything better with a little sharp melty cheese?

- For bread, I used ciabiatta rather than sourdough.

- The olive oil gave a nice crisp toasted edge to the bread.

the verdict:

This sandwich filled the bill for a melty, toasty, savory sandwich. I love how the basil and tomatoes combined with the melty cheese and crusty bread. Olive oil completed the Mediterranean flavor theme.

Would I call this the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich? Truth be told, not really. It is a delicious sandwich which makes a great addition to the repertory. But it doesn't replace the good old grilled cheese that says "comfort" to me.

I'm submitting this sandwich to Tyler Florence Fridays, which is an online group dedicated to cooking Tyler's recipes. If you want to see some truly delicious food, hop on over to the roundup on Friday and check out what each blogger has cooked up.

Penne with Vodka Cream Sauce

This recipe for Penne with Vodka Cream Sauce, sporting just 1/4 cup of cream, stopped me in my in my tracks when I came across it in Cooking Light's 20th Anniversary Issue. Cooking Light featured this recipe to illustrate two basic healthy eating principles:

"All foods have a place in a healthful diet" (ie, cream doesn't need to be a pariah), and

"Embellish convenience products with fresh ones" (fresh basil livens up the canned tomatoes that form the base of this sauce.)

n.o.e.'s notes:

This recipe was straightforward and fairly quick.

The only problem I have with Cooking Light recipes is that the stated portion sizes are pretty small (1 cup of the finished pasta/serving in this case). Depending on whether this will be a main course or a side dish, keep in mind that the recipe calls for just 1/2 pound of pasta, and yields 4 cups.

the verdict:

The recipe is quick and easy, and oh, so delicious! I can't believe I've never tasted this sauce before, but from now on it will have a firm place in the pasta recipe rotation at our house.


I'm submitting this post to the Preso Pasta Night's gala 100th roundup. That's a lot of fantastic pasta, folks. Stop by and browse the roundups - you're guaranteed to find a recipe you just can't live without. Congratulations, Ruth and all of the PPN regulars, for a consistently bringing us all of that delectable pasta week after week!

Pasta All'Aglio e Olio

I've made this classic Roman dish, many times, from different cooks' recipes (but really, this is a simple pasta, so there's not a whole lot of difference how it's done). This time I thought I'd try Mark Bittman's Linguine with Garlic and Oil, from his book How to Cook Everything (a Christmas gift), and use his Fresh Herb variation. Here's his recipe which includes some of the variations, but not the one I chose, so here's the Fresh Herb variation: (from the book)

[you skip the parsley in the basic recipe, and] "When the garlic is done, toss in a mixture of 1 cup or more fresh herbs, whatever you have on hand.... The mixture will absorb all the oil, so, ... when you toss it with the pasta, be sure to add more oil or some of the pasta-cooking water. Garnish with more chopped herbs."

cook's notes:

- My olive oil of choice for this dish was a nice Spanish (shh!) one.

- I threw in a generous shake of hot pepper flakes. We love our food good and spicy. You can add as much or as little as you'd like.

- I chopped a scant cup of: basil, sage, oregano and thyme. About half was basil, with a tablespoon or so of each of the others. I didn't have time to chop any more herbs or I would have used a bit more, and would have saved some for garnish.

- My pasta was done just a few minutes before my oil+herbs so I stirred in some olive oil and some of the pasta water.

- Just before tossing the pasta into the oil and herbs, I added in some pre-toasted pine nuts (I keep these in my freezer). I contemplated adding some bacon lardons (I also keep these in my freezer) but decided that would be overkill. If you add untoasted pine nuts, put them in the pan and toast them before cooking the garlic.

- This recipe works with any pasta shape. I had some that I was dying to use, and this recipe was a perfect vehicle for it.

the verdict:

This was a really good weeknight dinner for us, combined with an arugula, tomato and parmesan salad. It would have been good with even more herbs, but I ran out of time to strip and chop them. The pine nuts were a great addition and the bacon a good omission.

Since blog cooking roundups seem to work for me, I'm going to try something new, and submit this dish to Presto Pasta Nights. This week's host is Ivy of Kopiaste. I've got to thank the creator of PPN, Ruth of Once Upon a Feast, who makes it all happen! To see some fantastic pasta dishes, hop over to Ivy's blog on Friday and view this week's Roundup.

Mac n Cheese for the masses

I have a small breather now, in which I plan to:

1. take a nap

2. bake kugelhopf for this week's TWD

If I had sense, I'd take the nap while the dough was rising, but I'm just too tired.

One thing that was keeping me busy:

Cooking macaroni and cheese for 20, for a party at my house last evening.

I used my recipe (which I posted at the end of this post)

I tripled the recipe, which I prepared in two batches.

My rule:

Whenever I make mac n cheese, I have to make a pan to give away. This time I made some with gluten free pasta to give to my good friend and neighbor who is having an extremely stressful time right now.

The best part:

There was so much other good food (which I did not have to cook) that I ended up with lots of leftovers. Some for the freezer and more to give away!

Night, night...