Trends 2016 and Korean Food

I usually discuss trends for the new year at this point of the year but have found very little in the way of trends in my magazines. I did read in my ‘Saveur’ magazine, Jan/Feb issue, that we should stop saying FOODIE! It is a goofy word say some and we perhaps don’t need a catchall word for people who appreciate a great meal and what goes into it. Perhaps we can just focus on the pleasures of eating, cooking, and drinking and leave labels where they belong.

Perhaps we should make resolutions instead of discussing trends. I for one would like to have more dinner parties, but never seem to take the time. I would like to cook more adventurous food, and try really weird ingredients Again it takes time to seek these items out. I would like to eat healthier (and most of us want this) but it takes an effort to find the grass-fed beef, free-range eggs, and good local produce. My husband is always saying, “It is better to pay for the good healthy food than pills.” He is right on.

So in the spirit of a new year let us all do better with our eating habits. To begin the year I have some recipes for Korean food that my daughter cooked for us this past weekend. It is my first step in being more adventuresome! These are relatively easy dishes using some interesting ingredients and these dishes are healthy for you. Give them a try.

Bok Choy seasoned with soybean paste

Cheonggyeongchae doenjang-muchim

This is a simple and authentic Korean side dish made with Bok choy. Bok choy is easily available at many grocery stores and you can also substitute Napa cabbage or sweet potato stems instead.

When the Boy choy is blanched and then seasoned with this seasoning mix, it is soft, juicy and a little crispy, and takes on a sweet, salty, pungent flavor. Delicious!

Ingredients

1 pound Bok choy

1 garlic clove, minced

1 green onion, minced

2 tablespoons doenjang (fermented soybean paste)

2 teaspoons gochujang (hot pepper paste)

A pinch of sugar

2 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Cut off the ends of each bunch of Bok choy and separate the leaves from the stalks. Cut into bite size pieces.

Bring a large pot of water into a boil. Blanch the Bok choy for about 1 or 2 minutes until the white stems soften.

Strain and rinse in cold water to remove any dirt and stop them from cooking. Strain.

Combine garlic, green onion, doenjang, gochujang, sugar, and sesame oil in a bowl and mix it with a wooden spoon.

Squeeze out the Bok choy to remove excess water and add to the bowl. Mix it well by hand.

Sprinkle with crispy sesame seeds and serve immediately as a side dish with rice. You can refrigerate it up to 2 days.

 

Spicy Cucumber side dish

Oi-muchim

This is another Korean side dish using an English cucumber and a few spices and can be made in a few minutes. Many Koreans have their own version of this “seasoned cucumber dish.” Mix this just before serving and you will find this a refreshing side dish for a summertime barbecue also.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 English cucumber (or 2 to 3 Kirby cucumbers), washed

¼ cup thinly sliced onion

1 green onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons hot pepper flakes

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Cut the cucumber lengthwise in half and cut diagonally into these slices.

Put the cucumber into a large bowl. Add the onion, green onion, garlic, soy sauce, hot pepper flakes, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and sugar.

Mix it well with a spoon until the sugar is well dissolved.

 

Eggplant side dish

Gaji-namul

This a delicious, simple everyday Korean side dish. It is meant to be eaten with other side dishes and rice.

If you are a vegetarian, replace the fish sauce with soy sauce.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 pound Korean eggplants (3-4 eggplants), caps removed and washed

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 green onions, chopped

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon sesame seeds, crushed

Prep your streamer by adding 2 cups of water to it. Set heat to medium-high for it to boil. It should take about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut eggplants crosswise into 2 ½ inch pieces. Cut the thicker pieces in half lengthwise.

When the water starts boiling, put the eggplants on the steamer rack and cover. Steam for 5 minutes over medium high heat.

Remove from the heat. Take out the steamed eggplant and transfer to a cutting board. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes until you can easily handle them.

Tear each piece into bite size pieces.

Make seasoning mixture:

Combine garlic, green onion, soy sauce, fish sauce, hot pepper flakes, sesame oil in a mixing bowl.

Mix well with a wooden spoon.

Put it together and serve:

Add the steamed eggplant to the bowl and mix well by hand or with the wooden spoon.

Sprinkle with the crushed sesame seeds and serve with rice.

 

 

Benne

I bought my seed last summer in Tucson at Native Seeds. Planted them mid-summer. They are drought tolerant and went on to do well. Harvest is a bit difficult as the seed will disperse from the ripe pods if you do not get them at the right time.

Sesame, sesamum indicum, appears wild in Africa and India. It is one of the oldest seed crops, highly tolerant of drought, and has one of the highest oil contents with a rich nutty flavor. The largest producer in 2013 was Myanmar; the largest exporter was India and the largest importer was Japan.

Sesame seed arrived in colonial America, especially the Southeast coast, in the 17^th century with the slave trade. Charleston made them their own and the city is still known for its benne wafers.

Sean Brock, the noted Charleston chef, in his Heritage cookbook tells us that Benne, a Mende word for sesamum indicum, was a subsistence crop in the early Carolinas and bears little relation to the sesame seeds that come on your fast food burger (McDonald’s imports 75% of Mexico’s crop.). One can eat the young leaves, use the unripe seed pods like okra, use the seeds whole or pressed to make oil, and the leftover mash would make its way into a pot of collard greens as a rich oleo in a land too warm for cheap butter.

You can low-temperature boil the seed in water to get the oil as the Africans did or use a screw press to get the oil. It was a useful oil in the South until 1880 when David Wesson refined the stink out of cotton seed, a waste product, to produce a cheap virtually tasteless lipid and ‘Wesson Oil’ supplanted the Benne oil.

When Carolina Gold Rice Foundation undertook the revival of planting systems of the Carolina low country rice plantations in 2003 they secured landrace benne seed. This is much more flavorful than most of the sesame produced today. The Native Seeds of Tucson got their seed from Anson Mills of South Carolina.

You can buy your benne seeds from Anson Mills, www.ansonmills.com or order some seed from Native Seeds, www.nativeseeds.org. I am going to try using the young greens in soup or pot greens next year and maybe as Sean Brock suggests tempura fry the young seed pods.

 

But let’s start with the seeds for that Charleston party treat, benne wafers. This would be nice to go along with drinks for New Year’s Day. I am using benne seeds since I have a lot now but you can always substitute sesame seeds.

From ‘Southern Living’ March 2013

Savory Benne Wafers

Makes 6 dozen

¼ cup plus 2 tsp. benne seeds

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground red pepper

¾ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

¼ cup ice-cold water

Preheat the oven to 325°. Cook benne seeds in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Stirring often, 6-7 minutes or until fragrant. (Seeds will be the color of pecans). Transfer to a plate. Cool completely (about 20 minutes).

Process flour, next 2 ingredients, and 1 Tbsp. seeds in a food processor 30 seconds or until seeds are finely ground. (Seeds should be the same consistency as the flour). Add butter, and pulse 5 or 6 times or until mixture resembles small peas and is crumbly. Add half of ice-cold water, 1 Tbsp. at a time, and pulse 2 or 3 times or just until combined. Add 1 Tbsp. benne seeds and remaining water, process 10-15 seconds or until dough forms a ball and pulls away from sides of bowl.

Place dough on a lightly floured surface. Shape into 1 ½-inch-thick flat disk, cut into 4 wedges.

Dust top of 1 dough wedge with flour, roll dough to 1/16-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle with 2 tsp. benne seeds, roll gently to press the seeds into the dough. Cut dough with a 2-inch round cutter. Place wafers ½ inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Repeat procedure with remaining dough wedges and benne seeds.

Bake at 325° for 23-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely on baking sheets or wire racks (about 20 minutes). Store in an airtight container up to three days.

We always need something green for New Year’s Day so why not add some benne seeds to your collards? This dish has an unexpected flavor because of the toasty flavor of the benne seeds and the bitterness of the vegetable. You can use hot-pepper vinegar instead of the cider vinegar and chili oil.

From Williams-Sonoma New American Cooking Series, ‘The South’ by Roy Overton (Time Life Books, 2000).

Collard Greens with Benne Seeds and Chili Oil

Serves 6

2 lb. collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens or broccoli rabe---tough stems and wilted leaves discarded

2 Tbs. Olive oil

6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 dried hot chilies, broken in half crosswise

¼ cup benne seeds

1 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary

2 Tbs. honey

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 Tbs. cider vinegar

1 Tbs. hot chili oil

Cut the greens into 1-inch pieces. Bring a large saucepan three-fourths full with lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the greens and stir to immerse completely in the water. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and cook until crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the greens and place under cold running water to stop the cooking. Transfer to a large kitchen towel, wrap well and squeeze out as much excess water as possible.

In a large fry pan with deep sides over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the garlic, chilies, benne seeds and rosemary and cook, stirring, until the benne seeds begin to lightly brown, about 1 minute. Stir in the greens and honey. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the greens are well coated with the other ingredients and heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the greens to a large bowl and drizzle with the vinegar and chili oil just before serving.

 

Happy New Year!

 

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are king in Louisiana. As of 2013, Louisiana was the fourth largest sweet potato producing state with 8,000 acres and 2.5 billion pounds of product. North Carolina is right up there in the top four.  And Alabama and Mississippi and Georgia are also big producers. We think of using sweet potatoes during the holidays but they are good year round. They are harvested here in the fall so are readily available this time of year.

They are native to Central and South America but were taken back to Europe by Columbus and then around the world. They need a long hot growing season so they have made themselves at home here in the South. George Washington Carver at Tuskegee produced more than 118 different products from the sweet potato.

I am reading more about eating the greens as well. We failed to find slips for planting this year but will make an effort next year and try how we might use the greens.

I had to cook for a farewell luncheon for our deacon the other week and decided I would do something with sweet potatoes. I really don’t like them except in a savory dish but the picture of this cake in ‘Southern Living’ just made me want to cook it. Pretty pictures do that you know? The cake was a hit, and I also gave some to my neighbors who had recently gotten in a stray calf for us. This would be great for Christmas morning or as a dessert after that Christmas meal.

I put mine in a pretty dish and it looked lovely!

 

Taken from November, 2015 ‘Southern Living’

Sweet Potato Bundt Cake with Marmalade Ribbon

Makes 12 servings

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

¼ cup sugar

¾ cup orange marmalade, divided

3 large eggs, divided

1 (16-ounce) can candied yams, drained, syrup reserved

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 (15.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Super Moist Yellow Cake mix)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add ½ cup marmalade and 1 egg, and beat until combined. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mash yams until smooth. Add oil, cake mix, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ½ cup reserved syrup, and remaining 2 eggs; beat with a mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes. Place half of the cake batter in prepared pan, spreading it evenly. Spoon marmalade filling on top, staying away from the edges of the pan. Spoon remaining cake batter over marmalade.

Bake until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cake cool in pan for 30 minutes before inverting onto a cake place. Let cool completely.

In a small bowl, microwave butter until melted. Stir in vanilla, remaining ¼ cup marmalade, and confectioners’ sugar. Stir in 3 teaspoons of reserved syrup. Spread glaze over cake.

 

Pompano Duarte

It is time to get my Christmas dinner organized. My daughter is coming to visit and that is a treat since she has not been around for many years for Christmas. She is a good cook and promises to cook some good Chinese or Thai food for me,

I will be doing the Christmas day dinner and decided to prepare the meal I had at Arnaud’s a few weeks ago. So many people go out for Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve meals these days especially in New Orleans where there are so many good restaurants. My meal at Arnaud’s began with a Sazerac, then some pommes soufflé. Next came the Oysters Arnaud, which is a selection of 5 different toppings over oysters and all delicious. The main course was Pompano Duarte which was pompano sautéed with garlic, tomatoes and shrimp. Delicious! I got out my Arnaud’s cookbook and found the recipe and decided that would be my main course for Christmas. I am just not doing ham or turkey this year but something more elegant. This recipe is easy to do and your family will be truly delighted if you make this your main for Christmas dinner.

I could not find pompano this time of year but used wild caught black drum and it was fabulous. Any white mild fish would be fine.

Taken from Arnaud’s Restaurant Cookbook

Pompano Duarte

Serves 6

¼ cup clarified butter (you can buy this or make your own)

6 small, skinless pompano or other white fish fillet, about 6 ounces each

¾ cup Garlic butter (recipe follows)

1 pound tiny shrimp, 31/30 count, peeled and deveined

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh basil

Pinch of red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper

½ cup canned peeled and diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup Beurre Blanc Sauce, warm (recipe follows)

Garlic Butter

Yield: 1-1/2 cups

1-1/2 cups (12 ounces, 3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

¼ cup Herbsaint liqueur or Pernod

1 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Kosher sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Beurre Blanc Sauce

Yield: About 1 cup

1/3 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 large shallot, very finely chopped

¾ cup (6 ounces, 1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½ -inch cubes and softened

½ teaspoon Kosher or sea salt

1/8 teaspoon white pepper, preferably freshly ground

2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives

Preheat the oven to low heat and place six dinner plates inside to warm. Assemble the Garlic Butter, herbs and spices, tomatoes and Beurre Blanc near the stove.

Place a very large skillet (or cook in batches) over high heat and add the clarified butter. Season the fillets with salt and pepper, and sauté, without crowding, 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until golden (total cooking time will depend on the thickness of the fillets).

Transfer the fish to a platter and keep warm in the oven, loosely covered with aluminum foil, while you make the sauce. Add the Garlic Butter to the same pan used for cooking the fish and place over medium heat. Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink, about 2 minutes. Spoon off the excess butter from the pan and add the chopped herbs, red pepper flakes, black pepper and tomatoes. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, and stir in the Beurre Blanc Sauce. Spoon the sauce and shrimp over the fish and serve immediately, providing the hot plates at the table.

Garlic Butter

In a food processor or an electric mixer, mix the butter until smooth. Add the chopped garlic and process until smooth, then add the Herbsaint, chopped parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix until completely smooth and all the liqueur has been absorbed; this may take 3 to 5 minutes in a stand mixer, but will take less time in a food processor. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

Beurre Blanc Sauce

In a small saucepan, combine the wine, cream and shallot and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer gently until reduced to about 2 tablespoons, watching carefully, about 10 minutes. Set aside for up to one hour before finishing the sauce, if desired, or finish immediately.

Place the pan over low heat to warm through, if necessary. As soon as it is steaming, add all the butter at once and swirl the pan or whisk the sauce continuously until the butter has been thoroughly absorbed and the sauce is smooth. Remove from the heat immediately, and stir in the pepper and chives. Use within 10 minutes or keep warm, covered, in the top of a double boiler over hot but not simmering water for up to one hour, stirring occasionally.

 

 

Willa Jeans and John Besh

John Besh has a new restaurant called Willa Jean’s. The name sounds Southern doesn’t it and the food is somewhat Southern but with some twists and turns. The Besh restaurant group now has twelve restaurants! And Besh’s nonprofit organization works to protect and preserve the culinary heritage of New Orleans. Besh opened his first restaurant, August, in 2001, leading the way to a restaurant revival in New Orleans. He won the coveted James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef, Southeast in 2006. He has three cookbooks and a new one (which I just bought) called Besh Big Easy, 101 home cooked New Orleans recipes. This cookbook is a paperback and according to Besh, he wants you to take it into the kitchen and use it and not just look at the pictures.

Getting back to Willa Jean, we were impressed with the menu and the staff. It is located at 611 O’Keefe Ave, in the CBD of New Orleans. It is described as a retro-chic café offering Southern menus, baked goods, coffee, tea and cocktails. It is open from 7am-9pm. It was hard to know what to order since it all looked so good, but we had crab and corn fritters for our starter and I think that was the highlight of the meal. We ordered two tartines: one of smoked salmon, fresh cheese, capers, fine herbs, red onion on pumpernickel, (delicious) and another one with mushrooms and fried egg on white bread (not as good as the salmon). I ordered a grilled meatloaf sandwich with tomato jam and crispy onions on an onion roll. Delicious also! We shared a kale Caesar salad with cauliflower and parmesan. YUM! And since the place bills itself also as a bakery, we bought baked goods for breakfast the next morning.

So get over to Willa Jean’s as soon as possible. In the new John Besh cookbook I found the recipe for the corn and crab fritters. These fritters were served with a crab boil aioli but you could use any sauce of your choice to dip these fritters in, but I created an aioli for you to use. John Besh said it is a marriage of hushpuppies to crab cakes! How can you go wrong with that?

Crab and Corn Fritters

Serves 10-12

Canola oil, for frying

8 tablespoons butter

1 cup corn kernels (from about 2 ears)

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup sour cream

3 green onions, chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

1 pound crabmeat

1 cup stone ground cornmeal

½ cup flour

1 ½ tablespoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

Heat about 3 inches oil in a small saucepan to 350°. Melt the butter and pour into a mixing bowl. Stir in the corn, eggs, sour cream, green onions, and jalapeño. Fold in the crabmeat.

In another bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir the dry ingredients into the crabmeat mixture until well combined.

Wet your hands and form small balls of the fritter mixture. Drop, a few at a time, into the hot oil and fry for 3-4 minutes, turning until the fritters are brown on all sides. Transfer to paper towels to drain and sprinkle with salt. Serve immediately.

 

Crab Boil Aioli

Makes about 1 cup

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

3 scallions, white and light green parts only, minced

1 Tbsp. crab boil mix

1 clove garlic minced

1 cup mayonnaise

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

In a small skillet, heat the vegetable oil. Add the scallions and garlic with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook over moderately low heat for about 4 minutes.

Add the crab boil mix and the mayonnaise and mix well. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Can be stored for 3 days in the refrigerator.

 

 

Cooking Indian with Ismail Merchant

I decided I was somewhat tired of all the Thanksgiving leftovers (although they were very good) and try some good, simple Indian dishes. I always go back to Indian when I want fresh but spicy meals. I got out my old Ismail Merchant cookbook, Passionate Meals, and found what I was looking for. Even though the big name in Indian cooking is Madhur Jaffrey, Ismail Merchant does a very good job of breaking down Indian cooking into easy and workable meals.

Ismail Merchant was a producer of films, and with director James Ivory produced such great films as ‘A Room with a View’,’ Howard’s End’, and ‘The Remains of the Day’. Merchant was also a creative and inventive cook. When his first collection of recipes, Ismail Merchant’s Indian Cuisine, was published in 1986, Merchant was hailed as a “kitchen virtuoso” by the Los Angeles times, which as well as the New York Times named that book one of the ten best cookbooks of the year.

This cookbook, Passionate Meals, offers over 100 recipes that are rich with the flavors of Merchant’s native India. Merchant believed that the touchtone for all his cooking is taste; a savor that guarantees diners a sense of excitement and adventure. I go back to this cookbook over and over again. I am always amazed how he can take ordinary ingredients such as chicken, turkey, or lamb and bring it to new heights. These recipes are so good and easy. These are good for after the turkey---day one.

 

From Ismail Merchant’s Passionate Meals published in 1994.

Murgh Jeera

Chicken with Cumin

This recipe can also be used to make hors d’oeuvres. Use boneless chicken breast cut into bite-size pieces, or use winglets or drumsticks.

Serves 4-6

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, roasted and crushed

1 chicken (about 3 pounds), skinned and cut into serving pieces

2 ½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon ground red pepper

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Juice of 2 lemons

¼ teaspoon turmeric

2 teaspoons garam masala

Heat the oil in a heavy pot and add both kinds of cumin seeds. Let them sizzle for a few minutes, then add the chicken, salt, red pepper, black pepper, lemon juice, turmeric, and garam masala. Stir to coat the chicken with the spices. Cover and cook over medium heat for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. This can also be cooked in a covered baking dish in the over at 350°F for about 45 minutes.

If using bite-size pieces the cooking time is only 5-10 minutes.

 

I love fried cheese and it is on many restaurant menus these days. This recipe uses paneer (which can be found in most markets) and spinach and a few spices to make a special dish. It is one of my favorite recipes.

Palak Paneer

Spinach with Cheese

Serves 6-8

1 ½ pounds of fresh spinach

Paneer (1 package of cheese about 16 ounces)

Vegetable oil for frying

6 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1-inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and grated

¼ teaspoon ground red pepper

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Pinch of turmeric

Wash the spinach well. Cook it in a saucepan with 1/3 cup of water for 2 or 3 minutes. When tender, drain and chop. (I use frozen and it is fine). Just thaw, drain, and chop.

Cut the paneer into 1-inch cubes. Heat 2 inches of oil to 375°F in a deep heavy pan. Fry the cubes of paneer in batches, turning over once or twice, until they ae light brown. Remove the paneer with a slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels.

In a large skillet, melt the butter with 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat and cook the onion until just beginning to turn brown. Add the cumin seeds and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the ginger, spinach, red and black pepper, salt, and turmeric, and stir well. Add the paneer and simmer, covered for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Sides for Thanksgiving

The next two weeks I will focus on some good sides for that turkey or ham. The vegetables are the best at the Thanksgiving meal and since my husband is an avid gardener we tend to eat mostly vegetables anyway. His butterbeans are the best, and they are my favorite bean. But I digress. This week I have found some delicious potato recipes to brighten up your feast. Everyone pretty much has a potato dish (usually sweet potatoes with marshmallows) but this is not for us. Simple dishes like a potato gratin hits the spot. Creamy potatoes with greens kicks the potatoes up a bit and can be done ahead. So think outside the box and try these new sides.

Take from December 2015/January 2016 ‘Fine Cooking Magazine’

Potato, Fennel, and Leek Gratin

Serves 10-12

3 Tbs. unsalted butter, softened

2 ½ lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/8 inch thick (about 7 cups)

2 ½ cups heavy cream

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. fennel seeds, lightly crushed

3 large leeks, white and pale-green parts only, trimmed, halved, and sliced crosswise ½ inch thick

1 ½ to 1 ¾ lb. fennel bulbs, trimmed, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced (about 5 cups)

8 oz. Gruyère, grated (about 2 cups)

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 10x15-inch (4 quart) baking dish with 1 Tbs. of butter.

Put the potatoes, cream, garlic, 1 ½ tsp. salt, and ½ tsp. pepper in an 8-quart pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a fork, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining 2 Tbs. butter in a heavy-duty 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the fennel seeds and stir just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the leeks and fennel, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook stirring occasionally, until just tender 8-10 minutes.

Gently mix the leeks and fennel with the potatoes. Transfer to the prepared baking dish, evening out the vegetables. Top with the cheese, and bake until the cheese is deep golden brown, the cream has thickened, and the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, 35-40 minutes. (If the top is becoming too brown before the vegetables are done, cover the gratin loosely with foil.) Let cook for 10-20-minutes before serving.

This recipe taken from the November issue of ‘Southern Living’ shows how you can prepare this dish 2 weeks ahead.

Mashed Potatoes with Greens

Serves 8-10

½ cup butter, softened and divided

6 cups shredded kale, chard, cabbage, or other leafy greens

½ cup thinly sliced green onions, white and light green parts only

½ cup reduced sodium chicken broth

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 lb. russet or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces

1 Tbsp. kosher salt

 4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cup milk

Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add kale and green onions; stir to coat. Add broth, cover and cook, stirring often, 10 minutes or until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a bowl; cover to keep warm.

Bring potatoes, 1 Tbsp. salt, and water to a boil in stockpot over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 20 minutes or just until potatoes are tender. Drain potatoes, and let stand 3 minutes or until dry. Return to stockpot. Mash with a potato masher until smooth; stir in cream cheese and 4 Tbsp. butter. Fold in kale mixture.

Microwave the milk in a microwave-safe measuring cup on HIGH 1-2 minutes or until warm. Stir ½ cup warm milk into potato mixture. Add up to ½ cup more milk, 1 Tbsp. at a time, and stir until mixture thickens. (Mixture will firm up as it chills. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer mixture to a greased (with butter) 2 ½ qt. gratin dish or baking dish. Dot with remaining 2 Tbsp. butter. Cover dish tightly with plastic wrap, and then with aluminum foil. Chill 8 hours to 5 days, or freeze up to two weeks.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove plastic wrap and foil, and bake 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve warm.

 

Greens for Thanksgiving

There are so many nice greens to choose for Thanksgiving sides. Some of my favorite are Brussels sprouts, green beans, kale, chard, and of course broccoli. I have chosen some of my favorite recipes for Brussels sprouts and kale. These are especially easy and tasty and a great combination with the turkey.

 

Taken from’ Fine Cooking Magazine’ Dec. 2015/ Jan. 2016

Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Thyme

Serves 6

1 ¼ lb. Brussels sprouts

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

1/3 cup finely chopped shallots (from 1 large)

Kosher salt

1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest plus 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice (more juice as needed)

2 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme

Freshly ground black pepper

Trim and halve the Brussels sprouts. Melt the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the Brussels sprouts and shallots and stir until coated about 1 minute.

Add 1 cup water, and season lightly with salt. Cover and steam until almost tender, about 7 minutes.

Uncover and simmer until the water evaporates, 5 to 7 minutes more. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and thyme. Season to taste with more lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Serve immediately.

 

My favorite Brussels sprouts of all time it just so easy!

Place a pound of cleaned and halved Brussels sprouts on a cookie sheet. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Season the sprouts with salt and sprinkle with some olive oil over all. Add about 6oz. of chopped pancetta and sprinkle over all. Bake the sprouts for 15 minutes or until crisp. Sprinkle some balsamic vinegar over all the sprouts and bake for 5 minutes more. Delicious!

 

Taken also from ‘Fine Cooking Magazine’ Dec. 2015/ Jan. 2016

Butternut Squash with Kale and Dried Cranberries

Serves 6 to 8

½ tsp. ground allspice

¼ tsp. ground coriander

¼ tsp. paprika

Kosher salt

5 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

3 lb. butternut squash, peeled, trimmed, and cut into ¼-inch dice (about 4 cups)

1 ¼ to 1 ½ lb. kale, trimmed and cut crosswise into 2-inch-wide pieces (about 16 cups)

¾ cup chopped shallots (from 3 medium shallots)

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

½ cup dried cranberries

Freshly ground black pepper

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400⁰F. Mix the allspice, coriander, paprika, and 1 tsp. salt in a small bowl. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the squash with 2 Tbs. of the oil and the spices; spread in a single layer.  Roast, stirring once about halfway through, until browned and tender, 22-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Have ready a bowl of ice water.  Add the kale to the boiling water and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and transfer to the bowl of ice water. Drain well and pat dry with paper towels.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a large heavy-duty skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring, until just tender, about 2 minutes. Add the kale and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale and garlic are coated. Reduce the heat, add the squash, cover, and cook until the squash is heated through, about 5 minutes. Add the cranberries and stir gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

 

Acorn Squash

In the beginning there was squash. One of the first crops cultivated in North America, squash was a staple crop so essential that some Native Americans considered it holy. The early colonists found the Native Americans cooking fresh squash, drying the flesh and the seeds for long storage, and weaving thin desiccated strips of rind into mats. The most common type of winter squash grown by the Native Americans was pumpkins, so early colonists tended to call all squashes by that name. Although it seems like a cliché, pumpkin was probably served at the first Thanksgiving, probably in pies and as a sweet made by stuffing them with honey and spices and roasting them in embers.

Both summer and winter squash are gourds. The difference between them is mainly a matter of maturity, which affects how and when we use them. Summer squash is harvested when young, so the skins and seeds are soft and edible. We eat them soon after harvest, usually during the summer. Winter squash is harvested when fully mature. So the skins and seeds are hard and thick. Thanks to those sturdy shells, winter squash are good keepers, so they can be eaten after harvest in warm weather and also kept through the winter.

My husband is producing some acorn squash and it does have a hard skin to cut. I like it when he brings in the small ones since they are easier to cut. I cut them in half and bake them in a hot oven for about 30 minutes and then I can remove the skin and chop in small bites. In thinking of side dishes for Thanksgiving I found a wonderful squash dish using either butternut squash or acorn squash or a combination of both. Why not try these winter squashes? They are healthy and delicious! They will be a wonderful addition to you Thanksgiving table.

 

Butternut Squash (or Acorn Squash) with Caramelized Onions

Makes 8 servings

 Medium butternut squash about 2 ½ pounds or 2 medium acorn squashes

2 cups fresh bread crumbs

2 cups freshly grated aged Gouda or Gruyère cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)

4 cups thinly sliced onions (about 1 pound)

2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ cup chicken stock

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9x13 inch glass dish or ceramic baking dish.

Cut the neck away from the base of the squash. Cut the stem end off the neck and then stand the neck upright on the cutting board, using its flat bottom to steady it. Use a heavy knife to cut away the hard skin in downward strokes. Trim away any remnants of skin with a sharp vegetable peeler. Cut the plank into ½-inch-thick planks. Cut each plank into ½-inch cubes. Cut the walls of the base from around the seeds. Peel the pieces with the vegetable peeler and then place them flat-side down on the cutting board to cut into ½-inch cubes. (Or you can roast them like I suggested which makes it easier).

Mix the bread crumbs, cheese, rosemary, and thyme in a small bowl.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 15 minutes. Stir in the squash, sugar, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring often until the squash is tender and the onions are golden, about 10 minutes. Spread the squash mixture into the prepared baking dish. Pour the stock evenly over the top.

Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 400°F. Uncover the squash, sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top and bake uncovered until the top is golden and crisp, about 20 minutes. Let the gratin rest for 10 minutes before serving warm.

This dish had a wonderful taste and easy to prepare so a win-win all the way around.

 

Hudson Valley

On 8 October 1818 Robert Donaldson made a trip down the Hudson River from Albany to New York City, “Thought it the consummation of earthly bliss to live in one of those palaces on such a noble river under such a government.”

Things have changed some but the Hudson Valley in October is still a delightful place: fall color, beautiful views, magnificent homes (many overlooking the river) and much history. We sampled this with friends this past week from the Vanderbilt Mansion to more humble 17^th century Dutch homes. Washington Irving, the author, lived at Sunnyside, his cozy home overlooking the river. John D. Rockefeller built a beautiful mansion, Kykuit, which seems livable even today. The family commissioned Matisse and Chagall to design stained glass windows for their church, nearby.

The Roosevelt family of Hyde Park gave us a President, Franklin, and his wife, Eleanor, whom Harry Truman called ‘the first lady of the world.’ We learned at her home Val Kill that she could only scramble eggs as far as cooking was concerned. She did have a cook and would tell her that she was having 4 or 6 or so for dinner. Eleanor then went about her day around town, etc. and invited various people she encountered. And 20 would show up for dinner. She lost several cooks this way but the one that lasted the longest took the order for dinner for 6 and then made dinner for the 20 that would probably show up. Mrs. Roosevelt would take orders from her in-house guests for eggs at breakfast: scrambled, over easy, poached? Give the orders to the cook (the one that lasted) and the cook would present a plate of scrambled eggs saying she was glad everyone had ordered their eggs scrambled. The former first lady used common china from the dime store, and made paper plates fashionable. She and President Roosevelt are famous for serving hot dogs to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at Val Kill.

We visited West Point and their cemetery where we looked for the grave of the brother of the man who built our house. Col. Duncan McCrae was a Confederate. His brother, Alexander Hamilton McCrae, was a West Point graduate who was killed as a Union soldier at the Battle of Valverde in the Arizona Territory in 1862. He is buried at West Point.

We measured the huge Ginko at the Vanderbilt Mansion, touted to be one of the largest/oldest in the US. It was 11’10” in circumference as compared to ours in Mississippi which measures 16’4.” And on a visit to Rokeby we found another huge Ginko, but only 8’10.” Rokeby, built 1812, is a private home still occupied by descendants of the original owner. It was a real treat---elegance and decadence, due to the reduced finances of the present owners who feel a great deal of obligation to maintain and preserve. We got a special tour as our traveling companions are related to the owners by their son’s recent wedding.

A number of places were decorated for Halloween. One spectacular show of 7,000 carved and lit pumpkins we had to miss. No tickets. They need to be procured way in advance. I especially liked one display called the ‘scarecrow invasion.’ It consisted of scarecrows decorated for the season by school children in the area.

We stayed 3 nights in a B&B in Newburg where the hostess was an excellent cook. My husband especially liked her savory quiche with zucchini sans crust.

We tried to eat at the Culinary Institute of America in one of its three restaurants but were not able to make a reservation at any of them. We did have some good food at several locations. One favorite was in Newburgh, New York---the Old Plank Road Tavern, c. 1800. It had been a tavern, house of ill repute, speak-easy and for several years now a nice restaurant which we enjoyed enough to go back a second night.

We had lunch one day at the Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck, America’s oldest continuously operating inn from the 1700’s. We had a nice turkey pot pie with a big cheddar biscuit in the middle rather than a crust. I decided this was a good recipe to do since it will make good use of leftover turkey from the Thanksgiving dinner coming up, or a hearty fall one-pot meal. I used chicken thighs since that was all I had on hand. Thighs have more flavor, anyway. Pot pies are designed for the use of more flavorful fowl. If you have a bird hunter as a friend, you will be ready to go. I roasted the chicken thighs with some olive oil, salt and pepper. You can use a pie crust for a topping. I made some cheddar biscuits for a topping. Either way it will be good!

Turkey or Chicken Pot Pie

Makes 6 servings.

4 tablespoons butter

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 celery rib, trimmed, halved and thinly sliced

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

2 ½ cups hot chicken broth

4 cups chopped cooked chicken (bite-size)

Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet over moderate heat, add the onion and celery, and cook, stirring often, for 6 to 8 minutes or until limp and lightly browned

Blend in the flour, salt, thyme, and black pepper, then whisking hard, pour in the hot broth. Cook, whisking all the while, for about 5 minutes or until thickened. Set the skillet off the heat, cool for 15 minutes, then fold in the chicken.

Make biscuits of your choice then ladle some of the chicken pie in a bowl and place the biscuit on top.

Serve hot! Delicious.

Jambalaya

There are many theories about the origin of the name jambalaya. The words “jamon” in Spanish and “jambon” in French mean ham. Most jambalayas contain ham. Some say the word comes from American Indian language roots, and means more or less, “sweep the kitchen,” a name suggesting a way of using up whatever ingredients you might have on hand.

Whatever the origins, jambalaya is a distinctly French Louisiana creation. And, though there are two main types: Cajun and Creole (with all their variations), jambalaya is not quite like a rice dish in any other cuisine.

When cool weather comes and tailgating is the thing, one thinks of jambalaya. It serves a lot of people and it is tasty. One can use whatever is available and make it as spicy as you wish.

The October issue of’ Southern Living’ had an article on John Besh. He is the owner of 12 restaurants---10 in or around New Orleans. He has a new cookbook out which is a smaller, more usable book than his others which are like coffee table books. His new cookbook called, 101 Home Cooked New Orleans Recipes, has a recipe for jambalaya. He said his family had been using this version for generations. I had to give it a try and it was delicious. It takes a little over an hour to cook, but makes a lot of jambalaya-enough to last for many meals or for all your friends eating from your tailgate.

 

Taken from October 2015 issue of ‘Southern Living’

 

Creole Seafood Jambalaya

Serves 6-8

½ lb. bacon, diced

1 lb. fresh pork sausage, casings removed

½ lb. andouille sausage, diced

3 Tbsp. lard (I used olive oil)

4 skinned and boned chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

3 celery ribs, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups converted white rice

1 tsp. dried thyme

2 bay leaves

1 ½ Tbsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. ground red pepper

1 Tbsp. celery salt

1 cup canned crushed tomatoes

2 cups basic chicken stock

1 ½ lb. raw white shrimp or other wild American shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 bunch green onions, chopped

Heat a large Dutch oven over high heat until hot, and then reduce to medium. (This will allow the heat to be uniform all over; preventing those little hot spots that ae likely to burn.) Cook bacon, sausages, and lard in the hot pot, stirring slowly with a long wooden spoon, for 10 minutes. Season chicken thighs with kosher salt and black pepper. Add the chicken to pot, and cook, stirring often, 5 minutes or until chicken is brown.

Increase heat to medium-high. Add onion to pot, and cook about 15 minutes or until soft. Add bell pepper, celery, and garlic, and cook 5 minutes. Continue stirring occasionally so everything in the pot cooks evenly.

Add rice, thyme, bay leaves, smoked paprika, red pepper, and celery salt to pot, and cook, stirring often, 3 minutes. Increase heat to high, and add tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover pot, and simmer 15 minutes.

After the rice has simmered for 5 minutes, fold in the shrimp and green onions. Turn off the heat, and let everything continue to cook in the hot covered pot 10 more minutes. Remove the lid, fluff the jambalaya, and serve.

 

Tepary Beans

We went back to Tucson this past summer and paid our annual visit to Native Seeds. I bought some more Tepary beans and talked with the clerk about cooking them. I decided to use a slow cooker and even cooked them 16 hours and these beans still do not disintegrate.

My husband was interested in trying to grow them. Tepary beans, Phaseolus acutifolius, have been grown in the arid Southwest for millennia. They “mature quickly and are tolerant of the low desert heat, drought and alkaline soils.” The cultural instructions suggest planting them “with the summer rains. If the rains are sparse, irrigate when the plants look stressed. Teparies do not tolerate overwatering.”

He decided to plant in July when we start getting less rain which I think might be a problem for early planting here in the rainy spring. He planted Santa Rosa White, an old collection from the Tohono O’odham village of Santa Rosa, Arizona.

They have produced well and we have been picking for the last month. Pods are to be harvested as they dry. The mature pods will pop open and drop seeds if left on the plant. One alternative is to harvest the whole plants when the pods are turning brown and allow them to dry and then thresh and winnow.

In 1912, ethnographer, Caro Lunholtz, found these beans cultivated in the Sonoran desert where the annual rainfall is 3” and temperatures run to 118.° This area was the most arid area in the world where rain fed agriculture is practiced. Tepary beans are the most drought tolerant legume. Germination requires wet soil although the plants will flourish in dry conditions thereafter. Too much water inhibits bean production. In 2015 the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Columbia is testing crossbreeds of teparies and common beans in order to impart the tepary’s drought and heat tolerance which could be especially helpful with climate change.

Teparies have a sweet nutty flavor that’s delicious in traditional Sonoran stews and casseroles. The have more protein than common beans, Phaseolus vulgaris, and contain higher amounts of calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium and cause less gassiness.

I had a pound of tepary beans and cooked them in the slow cooker for 16 hours. All day and night and they still were firm. What can I say? They are tough little beans! I added onions, a carrot, and some water to cover and some bacon (I did not have a ham hock) which would have been better. They were tasty!

I decided to make a soup out of them and put about 2 cups in a food processor and puree them then added some water and spices (such as  pepper, salt, thyme, oregano) then some garlic and pureed all this until the consistency was smooth and creamy.  I served this hot with some bread and it was great.

Next I made some hummus! I pureed about 1 ½ cups of the beans with ½ cup of tahnini and salt and pepper. I added some garlic for taste. It was delicious and the hit of the evening. I served with blue corn chips.

You can find many recipes on line for tepary beans. You can produce them in our climate. It is something different for you to try.

The story goes that early explorers asked the Tohono O’odham people what they were planting. They answered “t’pawi,” (It’s a bean.) They go by other names as well. Seeds for tepary can be found at rareseeds.com, seeds of change.com, or for the biggest collection go to shopnativeseeds.org/collections/tepary-beans and decide which of the 33 different tepary beans you might want to try.

Please note that they are best grown on a support like pole beans.