Apple crumb crostata

 

A crostata is a rustic free form fruit or savory pie. It is not baked in a pie pan, but on a cookie sheet. Crostata is the Italian version while galette is French. The two words are interchangeable. For this recipe, I generally make a two crust pie pastry. I use one for the crostata and freeze the other for later use. The crumble topping on this crostata makes this version a little unique. This is the easiest way that I know of to make a "pie" from scratch. Give it a try. It is fun and quite easy. 

Ingredients:

For the Crust

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1 TBSP Sugar

6 Ounces(stick and a half) of chilled unsalted butter cut into pea size pieces

4 TBSP chilled shortening cut into small pieces

A scant half cup of iced water

1 Egg beaten with a TBSP of water

Turbinado Sugar

For the Filling:

5-6 Large Granny Smith Apples, Peeled and Cored and cut into thin slices. (about 5 cups)

1/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

1 tsp Cornstarch

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Zest of One Lemon

1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

For the Crumble:

1/4 Cup Packed Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

11/2 Cups All Purpose Flour

1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon

4 TBSP Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled to room temperature.

 Preparation:

Combine the flour, sugar and salt for the crust in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse four or five times to sift together. Add the butter and shortening and pulse 10-12 times until the dough looks crumbly and the butter and shortening are small pea size and well combined into the dry ingredients. Turn the machine on and pour the iced water down the tube of the processor all at once. Turn machine off and then pulse a few times until dough starts to mass on the blade. If the dough looks too dry add water a few drops at a time and pulse again. Turn dough out onto a floured board. With the heel of your hand press the pastry out and away from you a few times. This will do the final blending of the butter and shortening into the flour. Gather the dough into a ball. Cut into two equal pieces. Form each piece into a disc. Wrap one piece in plastic wrap and freeze. Wrap the second piece in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. While pastry is in the fridge, make the filling by combining all of the filling ingredients in a bowl and folding together. Set aside. Make the crumble by combining the granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir together and then drizzle in the melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly and all of the flour is incorporated. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove dough from fridge and let sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll dough out into an oval shape that is roughly 14" long and 12" wide. Transfer to parchment covered baking sheet. Arrange the filling in the center of the oval leaving a 2-3 inch border all around the outside of the oval. Brush the exposed border of the dough with the egg wash, and fold the border up and over the filling, pleating as you go. Now brush the outside of the folded edge with the egg wash and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar. Pour any juice left in the filling bowl over the exposed fruit filling. Cover the exposed fruit with the crumble topping.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until crust is golden brown. 

Chicken Noodle Casserole

 

Here is a recipe for a really good comfort food chicken noodle casserole. There are any number of recipes for chicken noodle casserole available but most use cans of undiluted cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup. I find that to be too salty and pretty uninspired, so I looked for recipes that didn't use soup. I found a couple and used them as a starting point to develop this recipe. Try it. I think you will like it.

Ingredients

3.5 Cups Cooked Chicken - I used Costco rotisserie chicken, but feel free to cook your own.

12 Oz. Extra Wide Noodles

1/2 Medium Onion - Finely Diced

1 Stalk Celery - Finely Diced

2 Carrots - Peeled and Finely Diced

Salt and Pepper

6 TBSP Butter - Divided

1 tsp Olive Oil

6 TBSP Flour

3 Cups Chicken Stock

1/3 Cup Cream

1/3 Cup Sour Cream

2 Cups Grated Sharp Cheddar

1 Cup Coarsely Broken Potato Chips

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. If you want to cook your own chicken, poach two seasoned large boneless -skinless chicken breast halves in a skillet with water or extra chicken broth. I used a Costco rotisserie chicken. Cut cooked chicken into bite size pieces. Cook noodles in salted boiling water for a minute or two less than package directions call for. They will continue to cook in the oven. Drain and return to the pot. Set aside. Melt 2 TBSP of the butter in a skillet. Add the 1tsp. olive oil.  Season the Onion, carrots, and celery with salt and pepper and saute until tender. Set aside. Melt the remaining 4 TBSP butter in a 3 Quart sauce pan. Whisk in the flour and form a roux. Cook until nut brown and smooth. Whisk in the chicken broth and bring mixture to a boil. Boil and whisk until sauce thickens. Reduce heat and whisk in the cream and the sour cream. Add sauted vegetables to the sauce. Taste sauce for seasoning. Stir sauce into the noodles in the pot, insuring noodles are coated. Add cut up chicken and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish and top with the grated cheddar and then the potato chips. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Serve with salad or some sauted summer squash and zucchini, and biscuits or crusty bread. 

Stracotto (Italian Braised Beef)

Last night I tried cooking something I had not made before and it turned out great. I watched Jamie Oliver(The Naked Chef) make this dish on Youtube. There really was no recipe, other than watching what he did, so I went through the three and a half minute video a couple of times and made some notes. I added a couple of ingredients and the result was terrific! You braise a chuck roast for about three and a half hours until it falls apart and then you cook some pasta and use the reduced braising liquid as a sauce which you thicken with lots of parmesan cheese and parsley. In the end you have a really complete meal with meat,vegetables and pasta. Here is what I did:

Ingredients:

2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

3-3.5 Lb. Chuck Roast

3 Large Carrots, peeled and cut into a rough dice

2 Large stocks celery, diced 

1 Large Red Onion, chopped

1 Fennel Bulb, diced

3 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 Cup Red Wine

3 TBSP Tomato Paste

1.5 Quarts Beef Broth

1 Can Beef Consume

1 Large Bunch Fresh Sage

1 Large Bunch Fresh Thyme

1 Lb. Wide Pasta such as Tagliatelle or Fettuccine

1 to 1.5 Cups Grated Parmesan

1 Large Bunch Italian Parsley, chopped

Preparation:

Heat olive oil in a large cast iron dutch oven or heavy bottomed soup pot with a tight fitting lid. Trim some of the excess fat from the chuck roast and season well with salt and pepper. Brown the roast well on all sides in the hot oil. When roast is well browned remove to a plate and hold. Add all the veggies(soffritto) to the pot and cook over medium heat until veggies are soft and beginning to caramelize. Add minced garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant, a minute or two. Deglaze the pot with the red wine, scraping up all of the brown bits and frond on the bottom of the pot. Add tomato paste and mix well with the veggies until they are well coated. Cook for a minute or two. Add the beef broth and consume. Return roast to the pot. Using butcher's twine, tie the sage and thyme into a tight bundle and add to the pot, draping the string over the edge of the pot, so that you can remove the herbs in a bunch when the meat is done. Put the lid on the pot and simmer on medium low heat for three to three and a half hours, until meat is tender and beginning to fall apart.  When the meat is almost done, cook the pasta in a separate pot per the package directions. When meat is done, remove to a platter and ladle a small amount of the liquid and vegetables over the meat. Add the cooked pasta to the braising liquid in the dutch oven and stir well. Thicken with about 1 cup of the grated parmesan and 2/3 of the chopped parsley. Transfer cooked pasta to another platter. Top with more of the sauce and garnish the pasta with the rest of the parmesan and parsley. Enjoy!!

Butternut squash puree

Last night I made breaded pork cutlets with apple fritters and braised red cabbage with onion, bacon and apples. I wanted a little more color on the plate and something to give the pork more flavor, so I came up with a butternut squash puree. It turned out really well and added a lot of flavor when you had a little of it with a bite of the pork. Here is what I did:

Ingredients:

2 Lbs. Cubed Butternut Squash(Available at Costco, already cubed)

4 TBSP Butter, divided

2 TBSP Brown Sugar

2 TBSP Maple Syrup

Salt and Pepper to taste

2-3 Cloves Garlic, minced

1 Cup Chicken Stock

4-5 Sage Leaves, minced

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400*. Melt 2 TBSP butter and then mix with the brown sugar and maple syrup. In a medium bowl, toss the squash cubes in the butter mixture. Salt and Pepper to taste. Cover a cookie sheet with sides with aluminum foil. Spread the coated squash in a single layer on the cookie sheet. Roast in the oven for 25 to 35 minutes, or until very tender and starting to brown. While the squash is roasting put the remaining 2 TBSP butter in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat. Saute the minced garlic and minced sage in the butter until the garlic is fragrant and turning translucent and the sage is crispy. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the stock to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and keep warm until squash is ready. Put the roasted squash into a blender. Add about half of the stock mixture and puree the squash. You will probably need to add more of the stock a little at a time until you get the texture you are looking for. You want a smooth silky puree but it shouldn't be runny. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Use this puree as a standalone side dish or as a base upon which to serve pork tenderloin, chops or cutlets as pictured above. Enjoy!!

 
 

Grandstand Burgers

Today was a beautiful day in Kansas City and neither Jan nor I were busy, so we decided to have a little lunch outing. I had read an article earlier in the week that talked about two Kansas City area restaurants having hamburgers that were listed in the top 100 hamburgers in the country. They were Town Topic and Grandstand Burgers. Grandstand Burgers had been recommended to me by a friend and when I also saw it was one of the two mentioned restaurants on the list, I knew we had to try it. 

Going to Grandstand is like taking a trip back in time. As you can see in the photo above, this is not a fancy place. It is very small, has no indoor dining, no drive up window and the building is original. There is room for one customer at a time to go in the door and order at the counter. The rest of the building is taken up by half a dozen people working at flattop griddles and deep fryers. Every burger is cooked to order and it is not a fast food restaurant. It took about 15-20 minutes to get our food. There are 8 or 10 picnic tables outside where you can eat if you don't want to sit in your car. 

In the article, the author recommended the Kelly Burger. I ordered it as a combo. The Kelly, it turns out, is a double cheeseburger with a thin slice of ham between the patties and bacon on top. The available toppings are lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, ketchup, mustard and mayo. I went with ketchup and pickle only as I wanted to really taste the burger. The combo comes with a drink, your choice of fries or tots and a couple of onion rings as well. What I didn't realize, was that each patty was somewhere between 6 and 8 ounces. When the burger came out I was astonished at the amount of meat. It was more than I could eat and it turns out that they have a Kelly single, which I will get next time. Jan was wiser (there's a shocker), and she went with a single burger with everything except onion and cheese. She got a side of onion rings to go with the burger. 

The burgers were delicious and we both thought they were the best we had had in the Kansas City area. The patties were thick but cooked nicely all the way through. They were juicy to the point of dripping and the flavor was terrific. I expect the fat content was quite high. The buns were toasted to be nice and crispy. The tots and onion rings were deep fried and crunchy. Everything came out piping hot. All in all it was great. Not health food but really tasty. 

If you live here or are visiting the Kansas City area I highly recommend you give Grandstand a try. Don't expect anything fancy but the food is excellent and very plentiful !!

 

Stir Fried Rice

Stir Fired rice is a very versatile dish that can be a really tasty one dish meal. You can use leftover rice or just about any leftover meat you may have. I especially like to use leftover pork or chicken to add protein to the dish. Shrimp is also a delicious addition. We got the recipe from the Kansas City Star a couple of years ago, where it was attributed to James P. Dewan of the Chicago Tribune. Give it a try and feel free to use any vegetables you like and any meat you want or any combo you can come up with. Just use this as a basic recipe and use your imagination from there. 

Ingredients:

1 OZ. Soy Sauce

2 OZ. Chicken Stock

1 OZ. Oyster Sauce(optional)

2 OZ. Peanut Oil or other vegetable oil

2 Eggs Beaten

Salt as needed

8 OZ. Onion, cut into a medium dice

1 Carrot, Cut into a medium dice

1 TBSP Minced Garlic

1 TBSP Peeled and Minced Ginger

1 Cup Peas(I use frozen)

3 to 4 Cups Cooked Rice(Leftover from carryout Chinese works well)

1 TBSP Sesame Oil

2 Green Onions, sliced on the bias

Preparation:

Combine soy sauce, chicken stock and optional oyster sauce in a small bowl and set aside. Heat a large skillet or Wok over high heat. Add one TBSP of the oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add eggs and season to taste with salt, and cook until lightly scrambled. Transfer eggs to a bowl. 

Return pan to high heat and add another TBSP of oil. Stir in onion and carrot; saute until tender. If you are using uncooked meat, you would add it at this time too and cook until done. Add garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant.

Add Peas, rice, cooked eggs and reserved soy sauce mixture and saute until warmed through and liquid is absorbed. If you are adding  cooked meat you would add it here as well. 

Remove from heat and stir in sesame oil. Check for seasoning and adjust with soy sauce, additional sesame oil or hot sauce as desired, Garnish with the sliced green onion then serve and enjoy.  

 

Tomato and eggplant salad

If you like fried eggplant here is an idea for a salad you might love. Start with a bed of greens, top with fried eggplant slices, add chopped tomatoes and basil and finish with a little olive oil and white balsamic.

Ingredients: (Serves four):

2 Medium Eggplant

2 Eggs

1 TBSP Milk

Italian Bread Crumbs

Salt and Pepper

Box of Spring Greens 

Tomatoes (I used Cherry Tomatoes)

15-20 Fresh Basil Leaves

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

White Balsamic Vinegar

Preparation:

Cut off the top and bottom of the eggplant so that they will stand upright. Remove skin from eggplant using a sharp knife. (You can leave the skin on if desired.  I prefer taking it off.) Lay eggplant on it's side and slice into 1/4" thick slices. Crack eggs into a shallow flat dish and whisk with the milk. Put about 1/2 Cup Italian bread crumbs into another shallow flat dish. Dip eggplant slices into the milk and egg mixture and then into the Italian bread crumbs to coat. Salt and pepper both sides of each slice. Put 3-4 TBSP of the olive oil in a large skillet over med. high heat. 

 Saute the eggplant until tender and golden brown on each side.

Lay eggplant on paper towels to absorb some of the oil. You will need three to five slices of fried eggplant per person depending on the size of the eggplant slices. 

Cut tomatoes into small bite sized pieces. I used cherry tomatoes and cut each one into four pieces. Chiffonade the basil.  

To assemble the salads put a handful of the spring green mix on each plate. Top with fried eggplant slices and then the tomatoes. Spread ribbons of basil on tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and dress with 2 parts Olive Oil and one part White Balsamic. You can use regular balsamic if you don't have white. You can also add small pieces of fresh mozzarella to the salad if desired. 

Plaza III Steak Soup

Plaza III was a wonderful restaurant that was on the Plaza in Kansas City for years. The Plaza location closed a while back and they tried to reopen in a couple of other locations, but sadly they are all gone now. They were noted for their steak soup and we have an old recipe book called "Kansas City Cuisine" that contains the recipe.  The book was first published in 1990, and is a sampling of menu items from a number of Kansas City restaurants, many of which are no longer in business. At any rate here is the recipe for Plaza III Steak Soup:

Ingredients: (Serves 8)

8 TBSP Butter

1/2 Cup Flour

4 10 Oz. cans Beef Consomme'

1/2 Cup Diced Carrots

1/2 Cup Diced Onion

1/2 Cup Diced Celery

1 Cup of Drained Diced Canned Tomatoes

11/2 tsp Kitchen Bouquet

2 Beef Bullion Cubes

1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper

10 Oz. Frozen Mixed Vegetables

1 LB. Ground Beef Steak, browned and drained

Preparation:

Place butter in a soup pot and allow to melt without browning. Add flour and whisk into butter to form a roux. Cook the roux for 2-3 minutes over medium heat without browning and stirring constantly. Add consomme' to the roux and stir until smooth and slightly thickened. Bring to a full boil. (Yesterday I substituted salt free beef stock for the consomme' and thickened it a little with Better than Bullion beef base and eliminated the bullion cubes). 

Add the fresh vegetables, tomatoes, and seasonings and allow to return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are crisp tender (20 -30 min.) Add frozen vegetables and ground steak. (I diced filet mignon instead of using ground beef). Simmer an additional 15 minutes. Be sure to cook long enough to let the flavors become well blended. 

KC Food Lovers

 I joined a Facebook group called KC Food Lovers. Members of the group are mostly people like me who really enjoy food and cooking. The purpose of the group is to allow members to share dishes they have prepared and to trade recipes and tips. I admit I have become somewhat obsessed with posting pictures of what I cook and viewing what other group members have done. If you are interested in cooking and you must be if you are reading this Blog, then you might think it would be fun to join the group too. The link is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1458979147763843

It is a public group and anyone can join. 

Here are some pictures from my recent posts in the group.

White Chicken Chili

Peach Crumble Cake

Chicken Pot Pie

 

Seafood Pot Pie

Honey Roasted Carrots

Herb Brined and Grilled Pork Loin

Berry Galette and Custard Apple Tart

Hope you give it a try and have fun !!

Deep Dish Shrimp and Bay Scallop Pot Pie

Last night I decided to do a combination of a couple of my other recipes. I love chicken pot pie and I love the combination of shrimp and scallops in a creamy sauce, so I came up with this deep dish shrimp and scallop pot pie. It turned out really well. I hope you will give it a try. 

Ingredients for the crust:

2 Cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

4 TBSP chilled shortening

12 TBSP butter cut into pea size pieces

Scant 1/2 cup Ice Water

Preparation for the Crust:

Combine dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to mix. Add shortening and butter and pulse several more times until mixture is crumbly. Turn processor on and add ice water all at once. As soon as dough starts to come together and sticks to the blade, turn off the processor. Don't overmix. Turn dough out onto a floured board and press out flat several times with the heel of your hand to make sure the butter is dispersed evenly. Form dough into a ball, wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour. I did mine in the morning and left it in the fridge until I needed it.

Ingredients for the Filling:

2 tsp vegetable oil

3 Carrots - Diced

2 Small Ribs Celery - Diced

4-5 Mushrooms - Diced

1/2 Small Onion Diced

3/4 Cup Frozen Baby Peas

Salt and Pepper

5 TBSP Butter

1/2 Cup Flour

2 Cups Chicken Broth

1 1/2 Cups Milk

1/2 Cup Grated Romano Cheese

1/2 tsp Dried Thyme

1/2 tsp Dried Tarragon

1 TBSP Chopped Fresh Parsley

3 TBSP Dry Sherry

1 LB. Peeled and Deveined Shrimp - Cut into 1" pieces

1/2 LB. Bay Scallops - small as you can get

1 Egg beaten with 1 TBSP water

Preparation for the Filling:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in a large skillet and saute the carrots, celery, mushrooms, onion and garlic until crisp tender. Add the baby peas to the veggies and season with salt and pepper. Hold veggies in skillet over very low heat. In a 4 quart saucepan or heavy bottomed soup pot melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and cook for at least one minute. Whisk in chicken broth, milk and romano cheese. Simmer and whisk until thickened. Season sauce with the thyme and tarragon and salt and pepper. Add chopped parsley and sherry. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. Add shrimp and scallops to sauce and cook just until shrimp turn pink. Add sauted veggies to sauce. Stir in and taste again for seasoning. 

To assemble, grease a deep baking dish. I used a 2 1/2 quart corning ware oval. You could also use two pie tins for thinner pot pies, but you would need to double the crust recipe. Roll out 2/3 of the dough on a floured board. Line the bottom and sides of the baking dish with the crust. Fill with the white sauce/ seafood mixture. Roll out remaining dough and top the casserole. Pinch top and side dough together at the edges and cut slits in the top dough to let stem escape. Brush with the egg wash and bake in the 400 degree oven until crust is golden brown. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!!

Rainy Day Project

Today was supposed to be a golf day, but it rained. I walked back  into the house from the golf course and looked around the kitchen for something to do and the first thing that caught my eye was the butcher block holder that stores all of my knives. It was getting a little tired and worn looking. I decided that it and probably all of the other items in the kitchen that were made of wood or had wooden handles were probably all in about the same state. There is an easy fix for that problem that will return the original luster to almost anything made of wood.  Mineral oil does the trick, so I decided to round up all of the wooden items I could think of and give them a renewal.  All it takes is a bottle of mineral oil, a rag and some paper towels to lay the items on while they dry. 

Once you start to look you will be surprised at the number of items you come up with. We never put anything made of wood into the dishwasher but over time, even hand washing will dull the finish of salad bowls, knife handles and wooden spoons. Here are a couple of photos of what I worked on today. 

As most of us are stuck in our homes right now, this is a great project to take up some time and really make a number of your tools look better and last longer.   

Seafood Mornay Over Puff Pastry

This is a very simple but elegant dish that is sure to please guests who love seafood. Like many other recipes this starts with a roux, becomes a bechamel and with the addition of cheese becomes a mornay sauce. The seafood is poached in the sauce and will be moist and not overcooked. It can be flavored with any number of herbs or spices to your taste. Here you see the seafood mornay served with some parmesan roasted vegetables. 

I did this dinner tonight with no recipes but will try to show you about what I did. 

Ingredients:(to serve two )

4 Puff Pastry Shells

3 TBSP Unsalted Butter

3 TBSP Flour

1/4 of a Sweet Onion - finely diced

2 Cloves Garlic - crushed

Heavy Cream

Whole Milk

Chicken Broth

1/2 Cup Grated Gruyere Cheese

1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Salt and Pepper

Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Nutmeg

Paprika

Chopped Fresh Parsley

Chopped Fresh Oregano

Dried Tarragon

1/2 LB Bay Scallops

1/2 LB Wild Caught Shrimp -  Peeled and Deveined

Preparation:

Bake four puff pastry shells per package directions. Be sure to remove tops and clean out the sticky middle portion after baking. 

Melt butter over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet. Whisk flour into the butter to form a smooth paste(roux) and cook for a couple of minutes, being careful not to burn the roux. Add onion and garlic to the roux and cook until onion is tender and translucent. Begin adding cream to the roux a little at a time while whisking. I like to add cream only until the sauce is quite thick. I then begin to thin the sauce a little at a time by adding some whole milk and a little chicken broth, maybe a 1/2 cup each. When your sauce is about the consistency of heavy cream, whisk in the Gruyere and Parmesan. This will thicken the sauce so that it clings to a spoon. Flavor with salt and pepper and crushed red pepper, nutmeg and paprika to taste. 

Add about 2 TBSP of chopped parsley and a tsp or two of the oregano. A couple of pinches of tarragon will really top off the flavors. Taste and adjust seasoning. Always remember when working with herbs and spices, it is easier to add more than to take it out, so go slowly adding a little at a time until you have the flavor you are looking for. When the sauce is at a consistency and flavor you like add the tiny bay scallops and the shrimp. Cook on low heat until the shrimp turn pink and the scallops are white and firm. It will only take a few minutes to cook the seafood. To serve, place two puff pasty shells on a plate and fill to overflowing with the seafood/sauce mixture. Top with a little chopped fresh parsley  and enjoy.

Parmesan Broth with White Beans and Swiss Chard

 

You may not be thinking about soup at this time of year, but I find that this relatively light soup makes a wonderful first course for a meal of grilled steak or seafood pasta. It is hardy enough to make a meal of in the winter months as well, but when I use it as a first course I serve a small portion in a shallow soup bowl and it works great. Swiss chard is plentiful this time of year and this is a way to use it. I originally found this recipe in a newspaper many years ago, but have altered it a little to suit my taste. The recipe was conceived by Sara Jenkins of Porsena and Porchetta in New York. 

Ingredients: (serves 8-10)

12 Cups Chicken Stock

12 Ounces Parmesan Rinds (available at Whole Foods or most cheese stores)

2 Garlic Cloves - smashed & diced

3 TBSP Olive Oil

1 Dried Red Chili Pepper - crumbled

6 Cups Loosely Packed Swiss Chard Leaves - Stems Removed and Cut into Thin Ribbons

3 Cups Canned Cannellini Beans - Drained

1-2 tsp Lemon Zest

Salt and Pepper to taste

Toasted Baguette Slices

Olive Oil to Drizzle

Preparation:

Over low heat, steep the parmesan rinds in the chicken stock for about 45 minutes, until the rinds are very soft and starting to fall apart. Strain the liquid and reserve. In a heavy bottomed soup pot saute the garlic in the olive oil until it is translucent. Add the crumbled red chili and the Swiss Chard leaves. Using a tongs, stir to coat the leaves in the oil and garlic mixture. Add the warm stock and the cannellini beans and bring to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add the lemon zest. To serve, place a slice of toasted baguette into a soup bowl. Ladle the soup over the baguette and drizzle with a little olive oil. 

Rolled Crepes with Scrambled Eggs, Sauteed Onion and Mornay Sauce

I recently finished reading Dearie, a biography of Julia Child, by Bob Spitz. I had previously read My Life in France, an autobiography by Julia Child,  but it really only dealt with the years that Julia and her husband Paul spent in France. Dearie covers Julia from cradle to grave and really details the struggles she went through to become a very famous cook and then to write and publish her cookbooks and become a TV icon. At any rate, it inspired me to do a little more French cooking, using some of the recipes in Mastering The Art of French Cooking, by Child, Bertholle and Beck as a starting point.  To create the dish above I started by making the basic Crepe recipe from that famous cookbook. When I had the crepes done and held, I made a basic Bechamel(white sauce)  and added cheese, which makes it a Mornay Sauce. While that sauce was holding on the stove top, I sauted  2 Tablespoons of diced onions and then added five eggs beaten with milk to the same saute pan and scrambled them. To assemble the dish you spoon a quarter of the scrambled eggs onto a crepe, roll it up and lay it on the serving plate with the seam side down. As you can see I did two crepes per serving, and then topped the crepes with the Mornay Sauce and garnished with a little chopped fresh parsley. Here are the recipes for each of the components:

For the Crepes: (From Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Child, Bertholle and Beck)

Ingredients:

1 Cup Cold Water

1 Cup Cold Milk

4 Eggs

1/2 tsp Salt

11/2 Cups Flour

4 TBSP Melted Butter

Preparation:

Using a nonstick pan that is 6 - 8" at the bottom melt the butter on med. heat. While the butter is melting put the water, milk, eggs, and salt into a blender jar. Add the flour. Add the melted butter and blend on high speed for one minute. Scrape down the sides of the blender jar with a rubber scraper and then blend again for a few seconds. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours. 

The batter should be a very light cream, just thick enough to coat a wooden spoon. If after making your first crepe, it seems too heavy, beat in a bit of water a spoonful at a time. A cooked crepe should be about 1/16 inch thick. 

To make the crepes, I use a little different method than explained in the referenced cookbook. Place the same nonstick pan that you used to melt the butter on a med-high flame. Add a couple more tablespoons of butter to the pan and let it melt. Pour the melted butter into a small dish. You will use this melted butter to brush your pan with between each crepe. Brush your pan lightly with the melted butter and place on the med high burner. When the pan just begins to smoke lift the nonstick skillet off of the heat in your left hand. Using a measuring cup ladle about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter onto the left top side of the pan and swirl the pan to create a thin layer of batter covering the bottom of the pan. The amount of batter will depend on the size of pan you are using. Return the pan to the heat and let cook for 60-80 seconds. Using a spatula of fork, lift the edge of the crepe to check for color. You want the bottom of the crepe to be a nice golden color. When you think the crepe is done on the bottom grasp the edge of the crepe closest to you and quickly flip it over toward the rear of the pan. Alternately you can flip the crepe using the pan, but this takes a little practice. Cook the second side of the crepe for about 30 seconds, or just until it begins to brown. This will be the inside of your crepe. Remove the crepe from the pan by flipping it brown side down onto a rack to cool. Then you can stack the crepes one on another to hold. They will also hold nicely in a warm oven. 

For the Mornay Sauce:

Ingredients:

3 TBSP Butter

3 TBSP Flour

11/2 to 2 Cups Milk

1/2 Cup Grated Cheddar or Gruyere Cheese

Salt 

White Pepper

Dried Thyme

Preparation:

In a small heavy bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the flour and whisk into the melted butter, until you have a smooth bubbly paste. Cook for a couple minutes to eliminate the raw flour taste. The butter/flour mixture is called a roux and is used in many sauces as a thickener. Off the heat, begin adding milk about a half cup at a time while constantly whisking. Add 11/2 cups milk total and return to medium high heat. Continue whisking until sauce thickens. If sauce is too thick whisk in a little more milk. If too thin, continue cooking until sauce reduces and thickens. Once you have the sauce at the consistency you want, reduce heat to lo. Add Grated cheese and whisk in to melt the cheese and blend into the sauce.  Flavor sauce to taste with salt, white pepper and dried thyme. Hold sauce on low heat. 

For the Eggs:

Ingredients:

1 TBSP Butter

2 TBSP Finely Diced Onion

5 Large Eggs

2 TBSP Milk

Salt and Pepper to taste

Chopped Fresh Parsley

Preparation:

Melt butter over medium heat in a nonstick skillet. Add onion and Saute until translucent. While onion is cooking, crack eggs into a small bowl and add the milk. Whisk together until fully blended. Add eggs to the sauted onions and cook. When eggs start to solidify, begin stirring and turning with a spatula. When eggs are almost done, turn off heat. The eggs will continue to cook in the warm pan. Season to taste with the salt and pepper. Assemble the dish on plates as described above. Serve with fresh fruit or a mixed green salad and crusty bread. 

Classic Eggs Benedict

Is there a better way to start a Saturday morning than with Eggs Benedict ? I don't think so, so here is the recipe. It is really a very simple dish to make once you master the hollandaise sauce. 

Ingredients: (Serves Two)

For the Hollandaise:

10 TBSP Butter
3 Large Egg Yolks
1.5 TBSP Cold Water
1-2 tsps Fresh Lemon Juice
Salt 
White Pepper
Dash of Hot Sauce

For the Rest of the Dish:

2 English Muffins
4 Slices Canadian Bacon
4 Large Eggs
Vinegar
Chopped Fresh Parsley

Preparation:

Step one is to make the Hollandaise sauce. It will hold well while you prepare the rest of the dish. Slice the butter into small portions and melt over med-low heat in a sauce pan. Skim the foam off the top of the melted butter and keep warm. Add about an inch of water to the bottom of a double boiler and bring to a very low simmer. Off of the heat, place the egg yolks and water in the top of the double boiler or in a large stainless steel mixing bowl. I prefer the mixing bowl to the double boiler as it keeps the egg and water mixture further above the heated water and is less likely to curdle the eggs. (See Photo below.)

Whisk the eggs and water together until they are light and quite foamy. Place the bowl over, not in, barely simmering water and continue to whisk until the eggs are beginning to thicken, about three to five minutes. Do not let the eggs get too hot or they will begin to scramble. You can control the heat by lifting the bowl off of the pan a little. Once the eggs have thickened, remove the bowl from the heat and continue to whisk until the mixture has cooled slightly. Whisking constantly, add the warm butter very slowly to the egg mixture. When all of the butter is incorporated into the mixture you should have a wonderfully smooth thick sauce that is a nice yellow color. Now whisk in the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Add a dash of hot sauce and whisk again. If at any time your sauce looks as if it is about to seperate, whisk in a few drops of cold cream. If the sauce does seperate, whisk another egg yolk in a separate bowl and then whisk that egg yolk into the sauce to reform the emulsion. That is all there is to it. To hold the sauce turn the heat off under the steaming water and set the bowl containing the sauce back on top of the pan.

Fill a soup pot with five to six inches of water. Add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar to the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. 

Place the Canadian Bacon in a nonstick skillet and heat on medium heat. Split the English muffins and toast. Butter when toasted. Lay the English Muffins on a plate and top with the Canadian Bacon

Crack an egg into a saucer and gently slide the egg into the simmering water. Repeat the process until you have all four eggs in the water. The pot needs to be large enough so that the eggs don't touch one another. It will take about five minutes to poach the eggs. Use a large slotted spoon to move any egg white that leaves an egg back to the egg. When the eggs are done use the slotted spoon to remove them one at a time from the water. Hold each egg in the spoon long enough to let any water drain from the egg and then place each egg on top of a muffin that has been topped with the Bacon. 

Spoon Hollandaise over each egg and top with a little chopped parsley. Serve with fresh fruit or a mixed green salad with a vinaigrette. You can also vary this recipe by substituting lox or sausage for the Canadian Bacon. Use your imagination and enjoy !!

From Scratch Lasagna

Completed lasagnas ready to cook or freeze

Since most of us are still confined to our homes, here is a project that will take up about half a day and you will end up with a couple of large pans of lasagna in your freezer, for when you can have friends and family over again. We will start by making a thick meat sauce. Then prepare the ricotta mixture and boil the lasagna noodles. Once all of these components are ready I will walk you through how to assemble the lasagna. If you are going to use one of the lasagnas immediately, start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. If you want to freeze both pans you can skip that step. You will need two large lasagna pans. I use 9x12" aluminum lasagna pans. They need to be at least 2.5" deep. 

Sauce Ingredients:

2.5 Lbs. loose Italian sausage (you can mix italian sausage with                      ground beef if you prefer) 
2 tsp. Fennel Seed
2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Med. Onion - finely diced
12 - 14 Garlic Cloves - minced
4  28Oz. Cans Crushed Italian Tomatoes
2  28 Oz. Cans Diced Tomatoes
2 TBSP +or - Italian Seasoning 
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes - to taste

Sauce Preparation:

Using a large skillet, brown the Italian Sausage. Add the Fennel seed to the sausage as it is browning. I add the fennel as I like a very savory sauce. Feel free to leave the fennel out if you like your sauce a little less savory. You don't need to cook the sausage all the way through as it will cook more in the sauce and when you bake the lasagna. Add the olive oil to a large heavy bottomed soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and sweat until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and continue to cook for a minute or so, until the garlic has softened and is fragrant, but not brown. Add all of  the canned tomatoes, increasing the heat to medium. When the sauce begins to simmer and is hot all the way through, begin to add seasoning. Add about half of the Italian seasoning, half of the salt and pepper and a few red pepper flakes. Stir in and taste. Remember it is easier to add seasoning than it is to take it out. Keep adding seasoning as desired. You may use more or less than I have spelled out in the recipe. The important thing is the sauce tastes right to you. Once you like the seasoning in the sauce, using a slotted spoon, add the browned sausage and stir it into the sauce. Let the sauce simmer on low heat while you go on to the next steps. The result should be a very thick sauce, which is what you want for lasagna. Your sauce should look something like this:

Ricotta Mixture Ingredients:

2 -15Oz. containers Ricotta Cheese
1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 TBSP Chopped Fresh Oregano
2 TBSP Chopped Fresh Parsley

Preparation:

Mix the parmesan cheese and the oregano and parsley into the ricotta. Beat until you have a smooth blend and the herbs are evenly spread through the mixture. Set aside.

Noodle Ingredients:

Large Pot of Water
1 TBSP salt
Roll of wax paper. 
24 Lasagna Noodles


Preparation:

Spread wax paper on your countertop, or better yet, in some jelly roll pans. You will need enough space to lay out 12 cooked noodles at a time. Add salt to the water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add 12 noodles to the boiling water and cook per the package directions. Use a tongs to keep separating the noodles as they cook, so that they don't stick together. When noodles are al dente remove from the water one at a time with the tongs and lay out flat on the wax paper. In the picture below, you can see the cooked noodles laid out on the wax paper. If this looks like too much of a mess for you, you can use the noodles that don't require boiling. I don't like them for several reasons: the texture is different, you can't cut them to size, they are smaller, etc. etc. but I will leave that up to you. 

Now we are ready to begin assembling our first pan of lasagna. In the photo above you will see that I have set up an assembly line. You will need the following. 

Ingredients:

Lasagna Pan
Sauce from above recipe
Ricotta mixture from above recipe
Cooked Noodles
2.5 Cups Mozzarella Cheese for each pan of Lasagna
1/3 Cup Grated Parmesan for each pan of Lasagna

Preparation:

Using a rubber spatula, spread half of the ricotta mixture on the 12 cooked noodles while they are still laying on the waxed paper. I have learned that this is much easier and quicker that trying to spread the mixture on the noodles after you have laid them in the pan. Here is what my noodles looked like once they were spread with the ricotta mixture. 

Ladle about 2.5 Cups of Sauce into the bottom of one of the pans. The bottom of the pan should be covered but the sauce should not be too deep. Top the sauce with four of the noodles that have the ricotta mixture on them. Trim the noodles with a kitchen shears if they are too long for the pan. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the Mozzarella Cheese on the noodles. Now add another layer of sauce, then the next four noodles with Ricotta and another third of the Mozzarella. Repeat again with a third layer of sauce, noodles, ricotta and Mozzarella. Spread the 1/3 Cup Parmesan evenly over the top. Set the assembled lasagna aside. Now prepare the second batch of noodles as above and repeat the same assembly process for the second lasagna. If you are going to freeze either of the lasagnas allow it to cool. Once the lasagna has reached room temp you can cover it with Saran and foil and Freeze. If you are going to use the lasagna immediately, cover with foil and put in the 350 degree oven sitting on a cookie sheet. Cook for about forty minutes covered and then remove the foil and cook for another fifteen minutes or until it is hot and bubbly. Let stand for a few minutes before serving. This will allow the lasagna to set up and you will be able to cut nice portions that hold together. Serve with a green salad, crusty bread and a nice Italian red wine.  Enjoy!!!