Leftover Turkey Enchiladas

Finished off the last of the turkey with the great after-Thanksgiving turkey enchiladas. I like jazzing up a canned sauce, which makes it much better but faster than starting from scratch.

I used green enchilada sauce, pepper jack cheese, and didn't bother deep frying the corn tortillas or saving sauce in a gravy boat. It was very good.

The Great After-Thanksgiving Turkey Enchiladas

Bon Appétit | November 1998

Serves 6. ingredients 3 tablespoons plus ½ cup vegetable oil 1¾ cups finely chopped onions 1 28-ounce can enchilada sauce 5 plum tomatoes, finely chopped 1½ teaspoons finely chopped canned chipotle chilies* 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro 3 cups coarsely shredded cooked turkey 2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese ¾ cup sour cream 12 5- to 6-inch corn tortillas *Chipotle chilies canned in a spicy tomato sauce are sold at Latin American markets, at specialty foods stores and at some supermarkets. preparation Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add 1½ cups onions and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add enchilada sauce, tomatoes and chipotles. Cover; simmer 20 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat. Stir in ½ cup cilantro. Season sauce with salt and pepper. Mix turkey, 1½ cups cheese, sour cream, ¼ cup onions and ½ cup cilantro in bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 350°F.

Heat 1/2 cup vegetable oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Cook 1 tortilla until pliable, about 20 seconds per side. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Spread 1/2 cup sauce in 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish.

Spoon 1/4 cup turkey mixture in center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas. Arrange seam side down in dish. Spoon 2 1/2 cups sauce over enchiladas. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese. Bake enchiladas until heated through, about 30 minutes.

Rewarm remaining sauce in saucepan over medium-low heat.

Transfer to sauceboat. Serve enchiladas, passing sauce separately.

Heat ½ cup vegetable oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Cook 1 tortilla until pliable, about 20 seconds per side. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Spread ½ cup sauce in 13 × 9 × 2-inch glass baking dish.

Spoon ¼ cup turkey mixture in center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas. Arrange seam side down in dish. Spoon 2½ cups sauce over enchiladas. Sprinkle with ½ cup cheese. Bake enchiladas until heated through, about 30 minutes.

Rewarm remaining sauce in saucepan over medium-low heat.

Transfer to sauceboat. Serve enchiladas, passing sauce separately.

Okra-Free Gumbo

Inspired by an article from the Sunday New York Times, I thought I'd try to turn some of our abundance of greens into gumbo. This recipe sounded interesting, and uses lots of random greens instead of okra. I used spinach, bok choy and arugula. We didn't have collards, and threw out our turnip and beet greens last week, or I would have used them.

It was very good, but could have used a little thickener. I added some chicken stock, sausage and frozen shrimp to the base and served it over rice. I would try filé powder next time. We have 6 cups of the base frozen for future use.

I used some cajun seasoning mix instead of the paprika, cayenne, cloves and allspice, and green Tabasco instead of Pickapeppa sauce. the seasonings were about right, but there is a lot of room for playing with them.

Gumbo Zeb from The Passionate Vegetarian

Roux:
½ c mild vegetable oil
½ c unbleached all-purpose flour

Vegetable Saute:
4 T margarine
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
½ bunch celery with leaves, chopped
½ large bunch scallions, chopped

Seasoning Puree:
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 T Pickapeppa sauce
2 T tomato paste
2½ t Tabasco
1 t dried basil
1 t dried oregano
1 t dried thyme
½ t paprika
¼ t cayenne
¼ t ground allspice
¼ t ground cloves
3 to 4 good grinds of fresh black pepper
1 can (8 oz.) whole tomatoes, drained, coarsely choped, the juice and tomatoes reserved separately
½ bunch Italian parsley, leaves and stems, rinsed and coarsely chopped

Stock and Greens:
Cooking spray
3 c any well-flavored vegetable stock
1 c tomato juice or V8 juice
½ t salt
2 bay leaves
3 bunches assorted greens, well washed and cut into ribbons

Make the roux with the oil and flour: Pour the oil into a large skillet or pot. Turn the heat to medium and immediately whisk in the flour. Stir frequently as the roux changes color from white to yellow to fairly brown. While the roux cooks, proceed with the other steps, but be sure to keep an eye on it, stirring very frequently. Warning--this is a long, slow process requiring attention.

Prepare the vegetable saute: In a heavy cast-iron skillet, melt the margarine over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the bell pepper and celery, lower the heat slightly and continue sauteing for another 10 minutes. (Don't forget the roux--keep stirring it while the vegetables saute.) Add the scallions and saute until limp, about 5 minutes more.

Meanwhile, between the sauteing and the roux-stirring, you will have time to prepare the seasoning puree. Place all the ingredients for the seasoning puree except the tomatoes and parsley in a food processor. (Pause to stir both roux and vegetable saute.) Buzz the puree ingredients until the garlic is finely chopped.

Check the roux again, then add the tomatoes and parsley to the food processor. Chop coarsely.

Pause to take note of where you are, and go stir the roux and vegetable saute (By now you have three mixtures: the roux, the sauteed vegetables, and th spicy, chunky paste in the food processor.) When the vegetables have softened, remove from the heat and set them aside. Keep working on the roux until it has reached a nice toasty brown. It may be ready now, or it may take a little longer.

Now prepare the stock and greens into which the other three mixtures will eventually go. Spray a large soup pot with cooking spray. In it, bring to a boil the stock and 1 cup of tomato juice (from canned tomatoes). Add the salt and bay leaves. Drop in the fresh greens. Bring back to a boil, then turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered for about 30 minutes.

Stir the roux. By now it should be dark caramel brown, but if it isn't, continue to cook it, stirring. When the roux has browned, remove it from the heat nad let it cool for a few minutes. Drain off any excess oil that has separated out, but be sure to leave every bit of the browned flour. Vigorously whisk in the 1 cup tomato or V8 juice. It will be smooth and thick and a pale orange paste.

When the greens have finished their 30-minute simmer, remove them from the heat. To the stock pot, add the roux mixture, the vegetable saute, and the seasoning puree. Give a taste and adjust the seasoning, set the pot back on the stove, and let simmer over the lowest possible heat, covered, for 15 minutes. Stir often.

Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

(found here, with some typos corrected, but recipe referred to in the NY Times is in The Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread by the same author)

Final veggies

It was a fairly light final box, by recent standards. We didn't get everything that was listed (no collards or kohlrabi, and as far as I can tell they all look like turnips, not rutabagas). It will still take us a while to get through everything, but we will be buying vegetables at the store again for the winter.

• Arugula
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Celeriac
• Collards
• Kohlrabi
• Lettuce
• Braising Mix
• Parsley
• Rutabaga
• Sage
• Thyme
• Turnips

The end is near

Next Sunday is our last week of vegetables. As much as we love them, we are feeling oppressed now. this week:

• Arugula
• Beets
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Celeriac
• Lettuce
• Braising Mix
• Parsley
• Radicchio
• Turnips

I made mashed rutabaga this week. We eat salad as often as we can. We're doing well on broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, but we can't keep up with the greens. We haven't eaten any of our recent raddicchio. we have a drawer in our fridge given over to turnips and radishes. It will be a relief to receive our last vegetables of the season next week. By the time they start up again in May, we will certainly miss them, though.

More radicchio?

• Arugula
• Broccoli
• Chinese Cabbage
• Celery
• Kale
• Kohlrabi
• Lettuce
• Spicy Lettuce Mix
• Parsley
• Peppers
• Radicchio
• Rutabaga
• Spinach
• Gold Ball Turnips

At least there are still tomatoes for our salads....

• Arugula
• Baby Bok Choy
• Cauliflower
• Lettuce
• Baby Lettuce Mix
• Spicy Lettuce Mix
• Peppers
• Radicchio
• Rutabaga
• Scallions
• Spinach
• Turnips

Fall veggies

• Arugula
• Beets
• Baby Boc Choy
• Boc Choy
• Chard
• Cilantro
• Daikon
• Fennel
• Garlic
• Kale
• Peppers
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Tomatoes
• Pumpkin
• Winter Squash

More greens

Better Blueberry Pancakes

This was from Cook's Illustrated, and I've been wanting to try it for a while, since I haven't been that happy with pancakes from the Joy of Cooking (they're a little rubbery, and don't cook evenly in my cast iron pan). Cook's Illustrated isn't freely available online, but I found the recipe on someone's random food blog via Google.

The pancakes were pretty good, though they didn't cook as evenly as I would have liked either. Much more tender that Joy's, but I'm not sure I see the point of sprinkling the blueberries on after the pancake hits the skillet. I'm not afraid of swirly blue batter. They would probably cook better in a big teflon pan, but we don't have one these days.

Ingredients
1 tbl. lemon juice from 1 lemon
2 cups milk
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces)
2 tbl. granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. table salt
1 large egg
3 tbl. unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 cup fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries, preferably wild, rinsed and dried

Preparation

1. Whisk lemon juice and milk in medium bowl or large measuring cup; set aside to thicken while preparing other ingredients. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to combine.
2. Whisk egg and melted butter into milk until combined. Make well in center of dry ingredients in bowl; pour in milk mixture and whisk very gently until just combined (a few lumps should remain). Do not over mix.
3. Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes; add 1 teaspoon oil and brush to coat skillet bottom evenly. Pour 1/4 cup batter onto 3 spots on skillet; sprinkle 1 tablespoon blueberries over each pancake. Cook pancakes until large bubbles begin to appear, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Using thin, wide spatula, flip pancakes and cook until golden brown on second side, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer. Serve immediately, and repeat with remaining batter, using remaining vegetable oil only if necessary.

Lettuce again

• Chard
• Cilantro
• Cucumbers
  
• Dill
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Lettuce
• Peppers
  
• Potatoes
• Scallions
• Shallots
  
• Grape Tomatoes
• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Tomatoes
• Watermelon

Birthday veggies

• Basil
• Chard
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Leeks
• Hot Peppers
• Peppers
• Potatoes
• Shallots
• Summer Squash
• Grape Tomatoes
• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Tomatoes
• Watermelon

Eggplants and more

With nephews for scale.

• Basil
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Onions
• Hot Peppers
• Peppers
• Potatoes
• Shallots
• Summer Squash
• Thyme
• Grape Tomatoes
• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Tomatoes

Heirloom tomatoes

This week, we got 2 lb. of heirloom tomatoes, 4 lb. of slicing tomatoes, and 1.5 lb of grape tomatoes. We'll probably end up oven drying the grape tomatoes.

• Basil
• Beets
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Onions
• Peppers
• Hot Peppers
• Potatoes
• Grape Tomatoes
• Tomatoes
• Heirloom Tomatoes

10 minute meals

I just heard part of this segment on the radio about a column in the NY Times that ran while we were on vacation. Some interesting ideas in there. I must say that #94, "ketchup-braised tofu," sounds nasty, though.

Melons & potatoes & tomatoes

Another cabbage, to add to the 3/4 we still have from last week, plus tomatoes, potatoes, and more beets! This must be the heaviest box yet, even before counting the watermelon that didn't fit in the box.

• Beets
• Cabbage
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Melon
• Onions
• Parsley
• Peppers
• Hot Peppers
• Potatoes
• Grape Tomatoes
• Tomatoes
• Watermelon

Tabouli will help us use the parley & tomatoes tonight.

Lentil Soup with Chard and Lemon

Found in James Beard's American Cookery, according to this blog where I found it.

We ate it warm, because we were hungry by the time I got to the last step where it says "serve chilled", and because it sounded better anyway. We tried it chilled for lunch the next day, and it was OK. I can't say it was a favorite for either of us, but it managed to use up two weeks worth of chard. Not as good as the chard tart we got as a recipe with last years vegetables (I'll post the recipe here eventually).

Lentil Soup with Chard and Lemon

1½ cups lentils
2½ lbs fresh Swiss Chard
½ cup olive oil
¾ cup chopped onion
3 to 4 garlic cloves
Salt
1 Stalk celery, chopped
¾ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon flour
Chopped chives for garnish

Wash and pick over the lentils. Cover them with fresh cold water, and cook, covered, until tender. Wash the Swiss Chard leaves and chop them. Add these and a cup of water to the lentils. Continue cooking until the Swiss chard is done, adding more water if necessary. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the chopped onion. Crush the garlic cloves with salt, and add these and the chopped celery to the onion. Continue cooking until the vegetables are tender and blended. Add to the lentil mixture. Mix the lemon juice with the flour and stir it into the soup. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until the soup is rather thick. Taste for seasoning. Serve chilled with chopped chives in soup bowls, and pass crusty French or Italian bread to sop up the juices.

First tomatoes

This week we saw our first grape tomatoes. Soon, we hope, to be followed by lots of heirlooms and slicing tomatoes, and sauce tomatoes in the field. This is the first week we haven't gotten lettuce - I guess the season is over, it will return again briefly in the fall.

• Basil
• Cabbage
• Chard
• Cilantro
• Garlic
• Melon
• Onions
• Parsley
• Peppers
• Hot Peppers
• Summer Squash
• Grape Tomatoes

Cold beet borscht

This is our favorite summer soup, and a reason we've been looking forward to beet season. It's hard to save any of the beets we get from the farm for anything else. This week we got less than half a pound, so only two large bowls came from them.

1 lb. beets
2 tsp. white vinegar, or to taste
4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
¾ tsp. citric acid powder [I skip this]
½ cup plus 1 tbl. sugar
1½ tsp. kosher salt
½ cup sour cream
2/3 cup heavy cream
Ad-lib toppings: chopped onion, chopped cucumber, chopped fresh dill, lemon wedges, sour cream, heavy cream, reserved grated beets, chopped hard-boiled egg, coiled boiled very small waxy potato

In a small saucepan, bring the beets and water to cover by 2 inches to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the beets are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 30 to 45 minutes (depending on the size and age of the beets).

Drain the beets in a sieve lined with a damp cloth; reserve the cooking liquid. Run the beets under cold water to cool, then peel. In a food processor, grate the beets with the grating disc (this can also be done with a box grater).

Return half of the grated beets to the cooking liquid. Reserve the rest of the beets for topping or for another use. Season the soup with the vinegar, lemon juice, citric acid, sugar and salt and stir until everything is dissolved. Chill.

Just before serving, whisk in the sour cream and heavy cream. Pass small bowls of the ad lib toppings.

Makes 7 cups; serves 6 as a first course.

from Vegetable Love by Barbara Kafka.

The veggies of summer

We missed a couple weeks of vegetables while on vacation, but they didn't go to waste, since we had friends pick them up. We picked up this week's bounty before heading to Michigan. I liked the food in Croatia, but it is meat heavy, and I am looking forward to the fresh vegetables.

• Basil
• Beets
• Cabbage
• Chard
• Cilantro
• Eggplant
• Garlic
• Lettuce
• Onions
• Peppers
• Hot Peppers
• Summer Squash

More and more

• Basil
• Cilantro
• Chard
• Chinese Cabbage
• Fennel
• Garlic Top
• Kale
• 3 Heads Lettuce
• Radicchio
• Scallions
• Summer Squash

This box felt heavier.

Rabbit food?

Using up the vegetables before we get more tomorrow:

• radicchio risotto
• kale braised in chicken stock with bacon
• lettuce, radicchio, dandelion green & carrot salad

Radicchio Risotto

about 6¼ cups vegetable stock
6 tbl. butter
1 onion, chopped
7 oz. radicchio, chopped [we used a whole head for a half recipe]
2 cups arborio rice
5 tbl. white wine
2 tbl. Parmesan, freshly grated
salt

Bring the stock to a boil. Meanwhile, melt half te butter in another pan, add the onion and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Stir in the radicchio, then stir in the rice and cook, stirring, until the grains are coated in butter. Pour in the wine and cook until it has evaporated. Add a ladleful of hot stock and cook,, stirring, until it has been absorbed. Continue adding the stock, a ladleful at a time, and stirring until each addition has been absorbed. This will take 18-20 minutes. When the rice is tender, season with salt to taste, stir in the remaining butter and the Parmesan and serve.

From The Silver Spoon.

Dutch Baby Bunny

This is easy, and good brunch food. I guess it's a dutch pannenkoeken. I often make one when I'm home for lunch and don't have handy leftovers. Either a full recipe or 1½ recipe go well in a 12" cast iron skillet. It's good with or without bacon, though you may want to add more salt if you make it with unsalted butter and no bacon. We don't usually have vanilla sugar, so I use granulated sugar and add a little vanilla extract to the liquid. They usually puff up higher than the one in this picture.

Dutch Baby Bunnies

½ cup flour
2 tbl. vanilla sugar
¼ tsp. salt
4 tbl. butter [I usually use 2-3 tbl.]
½ cup milk
2 eggs
3 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Put the butter in the skillet and place a 10" cast iron skillet into the oven to melt the butter. Watch out--- don't let it burn.

Combine the dry ingredients (except the bacon), then the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, and mix the wet into the dry, then add the bacon.

Remove the skillet from the oven. Pour the batter into the skillet and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove the skillet from the oven and transfer the bunny to a serving plate.

Sprinkle with more vanilla sugar and top with desired topping [usually maple syrup for me]. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

From I'm Just Here for More Food by Alton Brown

More greens

This week:

• Cilantro
• Garlic scapes
• scallions
• 3 summer squash
• 4 heads lettuce
• kale
• peas
• dandelion greens
• radiccio

Week #2

This week:

• Bok Choy
• Broccoli
• Collards
• Garlic Tops
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Peas
• Strawberries

We got through all but the lettuce last week. This week, only two new heads, but they are huge, and we also have several other greens.

General Tso's Chicken

Had big salad the last couple nights, and steamed the bok choy to go as a side dish with this.

I like this recipe, but we agreed that it could be more balanced, with less chili sauce and more sugar. This is based on a recipe I've had for a long time, but I don't know the original source.

1 lb boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 in. cubes
1 egg
1 tbl. cornstarch
1 tbl. soy sauce
1 tbl. minced ginger
1 crushed clove garlic
3 scallions
2 tbl. soy sauce
1½ tbl. chili paste
2 tbl. corn starch
1 tbl. rice wine vinegar
1 tbl. sherry
1 tbl. sugar
⅜ cup chicken stock
1 tsp. sesame oil

Coat the chicken with egg, cornstarch & soy mixture. Fry in batches in ½ inch of oil in wok. Set aside.

Heat a bit of oil in wok. Fry scallions, ginger, and garlic until scallions soften a bit, then add chicken and stir fry briefly. Add the sauce made from the rest of the ingredients combined and cook until thickened. Remove from heat, add sesame oil and stir.

Julienne of Five Lettuce Soup

Still looking for new and creative ways to eat lettuce, without a salad every night. This was OK. Made about a half recipe, with the varieties of lettuce we happened to have (3 different ones), and no chicory.

1 cup packed romaine lettuce leaves
1 cup packed Boston lettuce leaves
1 cup packed leaf lettuce
1 cup escarole leaves
½ cup packed escarole leaves
2 tbl. unsalted butter
5 cups chicken stock
½ cup heavy cream
6 egg yolks
1½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper

Wash the lettuces and dry well. Cut into ⅛ inch strip: This is easiest to do if you stack several leaves at a time, roll into a tight wad and slice them accross. You can also use the medium slicing disk of a food processor.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the lettuces and toss with the butter. When the lettuces are wilted, add the chicken stock and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the toughest leaves are tender.

In a small bowl, mix the cream with the egg yolks. Gradually stir in a small amount of the hot soup into the cream mixture to slowly raise the temperature of the egg yolks. Keep adding soup until the mixture is warm. Whick the egg yolk mixture into the soup and cook, stirring constantly, without letting the soup boil, until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Season with the salt and pepper.

Serves 6 to 8 as a first course
from Vegetable Love by Barbara Kafka

Salmon Wrapped in Lettuce Leaves

Used up one head of lettuce with this. I could have used a few more leaves, but I can't imagine using 4 heads as in the recipe. I was skeptical after I wrapped the fish (I actually used steelhead, very similar to salmon) in lettuce and it was falling apart, but after steaming the lettuce stayed on well. This is nice with no added flavors, but might be improved with some ginger & lemon grass, and maybe a crunchy vegetable in the package with the fish. Variations have some potential.

4 medium heads Boston lettuce (about 8 oz. each)
1 lb. salmon fillet

Prepare the lettuce: Carefully separate the lettuce leaves. Cut each leaf in half, removing the center rib. Trim the heavy white sections from each half, leaving a circle of lettuce approximately 3 ½ inches in diameter. Set aside (do not blanch).

Cut the salmon into 1 x 1 x ½ inch pieces. Place a piece of salmon on each piece of lettuce leaf. Fold the edges of the leaf over the salmon. Place seam side down in the top of a two-part steamer, or in a bamboo steamer rack or on a plate in a bamboo steamer. Fill the bottom of the steamer pan or a pan large enogh to hold the bamboo or steaming rack with water; the water should not touch the rack. Bring to a boil. Place the salmon on top, cover and steam until the salmon is completely cooked, for about 10 minutes.

Makes about 48 pieces (can be divided easily).
from Vegetable Love, by Barbara Kafka

The vegetables begin

The new season of our CSA started today! It's the official start of lettuce season. The contents are:

4 heads of leattuce
1 head of bok choy
1 pint sugar snap peas
1 quart strawberries

So, mostly salads for this week. I think the other things will all be best done simply, steaming for the bok choy and peas, and straight or with yogurt for the strawberries. We can also get more peas & strawberries at the farm if we pick our own.

Yummy noodle dish

A good recipe from Epicurious. They are a bit fussy with the preperation, though it tastes good as described. To simplify, just make the sauce, and use it as a stir fry sauce with chicken & or vegies & or tofu...

ASIAN NOODLES WITH CHICKEN AND SCALLIONS
1 lb chicken tenders (not coated or cooked)
1 lb fresh or frozen broccoli florets
1 lb dried udon (thick wheat noodles)
1/2 cup premium oyster sauce (preferably Lee Kum Kee)
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (preferably Lee Kum Kee or Koon Chun)
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
2 teaspoons Chinese chile garlic paste (preferably Lan Chi), or to taste
1/2 cup chopped scallions (from 1 bunch)
2 teaspoons roasted sesame seeds (optional)

Cook chicken in a 6-quart pot of boiling unsalted water, covered, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl with a slotted spoon.

Add broccoli to boiling water and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer with slotted spoon to a colander to drain, then transfer to another bowl. Return water to a boil and cook noodles until tender (check often; cooking time on package may not be accurate). Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain noodles in colander and rinse under hot water.

While noodles cook, tear chicken into chunks.

Add oyster and hoisin sauces, sesame oil, chile garlic paste, half of scallions, and 1/3 cup cooking water to chicken and stir to combine.

Divide noodles, broccoli, and chicken mixture among 4 bowls and sprinkle with sesame seeds and remaining scallions. Serve immediately, stirring just before eating. If noodles become dry, moisten with some of cooking water.

No-knead Bread, Take 3

Another attempt at no-knead bread. I weighed the flour instead of measuring, using 300 g white flour and 130 g wheat flour. I doubled both the yeast and the salt. The total water is about 1 1/2 cups water. I'm getting better at working the wet dough (the only hard part is folding it before the final rise), and it's getting better. It still doesn't rise quite as high as I think it should, but it's very good, with an excellent crust. I'll keep making it.

Macaroni and cheese

This is good comfort food. I made this recipe for macaroni and cheese, which has a nice panko crust. I thought it might be too crust heavy, but it turned out not to be. The tang of the mustard and pepper flakes was perfect. We used an assortment of cheeses we had to use up, about 2 cups cheddar, 1½ cup gouda, and some parmesan which went into the topping. The sauce seemed watery before baking, but ended up perfect.

Sambal in the Style of Java

For Khyati, who liked this when we had it on Saturday night, and wanted the recipe (right after I said I wouldn't post it...). This is from Salsas, Sambals, Chutneys & Chowchows by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby--but Khyati and John might know Schlesinger by reputation, as owner of the East Coast Grill in Inman Square.

Sambal in the Style of Java

2 cups shredded green cabbage
1 cup peeled, shredded carrots
1/2 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup peanuts, toasted

Dressing
1 T. minced, fresh ginger
1 T. minced red or green chile pepper
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. shrimp paste
2 T. coriander seeds, cracked
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup peanut oil
salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Combine main ingredients in large bowl. Combine dressing ingredients; process until very well blended. Pour over vegetables and mix well.

Notes on my copy of the recipe, which I always follow:
Alice and Craig say: use more chiles, less molasses. Jamie says: put peanuts on last, on top, after mixing in dressing. All three of us say: needs more stuff for the amount of sauce made.

On another note, the reason that we didn't have egregiously more dressing than stuff last Saturday, Khyati? Because I forgot the oil. And it was yummy anyway. Hmmm.

Lemongrass chicken over lemongrass coconut rice

The chicken I think of as a recipe from my friend Ryan, because we got so stuck on it that it seemed like we were making it almost weekly for a while. But in reality it's a recipe from Steven Raichlen, off of the website Star Chefs, which we modified just a tiny bit.

Lemongrass Chicken

• 1 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 1/2 Tbs. honey
• 1 Tbs. fish sauce
• 2 to 3 stalks fresh lemongrass (at least 2 tablespoons minced)
• 1 1/2 Tbs. canola oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  
• 1 Tbs. soy sauce
• 3 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

Wash and dry the chicken and trim off any fat. Cut the chicken breast across the grain on the diagonal into 1/8-inch strips. Cut these strips into 2-inch pieces. Combine the chicken, honey, and fish sauce in a bowl and stir to mix. Let marinate for 5 to 10 minutes. Trim the green leaves and root end off the lemongrass stalk and strip off the outside leaves. Mince the core finely.

Just before serving, heat a wok (preferably nonstick) over high heat and swirl in the oil. Add the garlic and lemongrass and stir-fry until fragrant but not brown, about 15 seconds. Add the chicken and stir-fry until the pieces turn white, about 1 minute. Move the chicken to the sides of the wok and add the onion to the center. Stir-fry until the onion loses its rawness, about 1 minute. Mix the chicken back in the center of the wok, add the soy sauce, continue stir-frying until the chicken is cooked, 2 to 3 minutes. Correct the seasoning, adding honey or fish sauce to taste. The dish should be a little sweet and salty. Sprinkle the chicken with the cilantro and serve at once.


We ate the chicken with lemongrass-scented coconut rice--yes, redundant, but good. We had the rice left over from dinner a couple of nights ago. It's from a new cookbook by James Oseland, Cradle of Flavor, about which we're pretty excited. We also had Sambal in the Style of Java, from Salsas, Sambals, Chutneys & Chowchows by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby both nights, but I won't reproduce that here.

Lemongrass-Scented Coconut Rice

2 cups jasmine rice
3 thick stalks lemongrass, tied into a knot
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp. kosher salt

Place the rice in a 2 quart saucepan and rinse four times with cold water. Add the lemongrass, cooking water, coconut milk and salt to the rinsed rice. Stir well to combine, making sure the lemongrass stalks are as fully submerged in the rice as possible. Place the pot over high heat and bring the liquid to a boil, stirring with a large spoon to prevent scorching or burning. Allow the rice to boil for 15 seconds, still stirring, then reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cover tightly with a lid. Continue cooking for 15 minutes. Without removing lid, remove the pot from the heat and allow to continue to steam for ten additional minutes, away from the heat. Discard lemongrass, gently fold and fluff rice, and serve.

Oseland includes optional daun salam leaves in cooking, and fried shallots for topping, but we just make it simply. This time we tried it in the rice cooker; it was a small bit browned on the bottom, but not burnt, and worked well.

Pasta with white beans, pesto, and sun dried tomatoes

We spent too much time gardening Sunday and then needed a quick dinner. So here's a spring thaw pasta to celebrate the bounties of last summer....quick, easy, yummy, and using things we made from our farm share produce and then froze last summer: oven dried grape tomatoes and pesto. We had this with the rest of Kelsey's no-knead bread, version 2, about which he'll maybe blog if he becomes satisfied with the result.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup pesto
1 15-ounce can cannellini (white kidney beans), rinsed, drained

8 ounces gemelli pasta

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 ounce)

salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine and pesto; simmer over medium heat until reduced slightly, about 5 minutes. Add cannellini and stir until heated through.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking water.

Add pasta and cheese to sauce; toss to coat. Mix in enough reserved pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time, to moisten. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

From Epicurious.

Lentil's with Berebere Spice

A good use for the spice mix given below...

1 pound lentils
6 cups water or vegetable broth

6 cups mild green chiles roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped,
OR 1 bell pepper chopped + 14-oz can chopped green chiles

2 red onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic minced, or more
2 tablespoons Berbere Spice Mix
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring lentils and broth to boil and simmer 10 minutes.

2. Add chiles, onion, garlic, and Berebere spices. Cook covered for another 30 minutes, until most of liquid is absorbed.

3. Serve with ground black pepper to taste.

For a vegetarian meal, these lentils are good with a dollop of yogurt, brown rice and sliced tomatoes.

Berbere Spice mix & Lentil recipies

On of my new favorites, discovered by Zorana after we had something like it in a restaurant in LA. This spice mix seems very adaptable -- I would like to use it in a chicken dish soon, but I will have to invent that first. The lentil recipe is very good which follows this is a good way to use this. From www.cyber-kitchen.com

There is something with this same name in West Africa, but it is very different and also very good.... I shall try to track it down later.

Berbere Spice Mix

• 2 teaspoons cumin seed, or powder
• 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds (shell off husks), or powder
• 1/2 teaspoon whole allspice (or ground)
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seed (or powder)
• 1 teaspoon coriander seed (or powder)
• 8 whole cloves, or ground
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, or freshly ground
• 5 teaspoons red pepper flakes or crumbled dried red peppers
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh gingeroot (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons sweet paprika (can use hot)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Toast all the seeds and whole cloves in a small frying pan for 2 minutes, stirring constantly (open window or turn on the stove vent--it can smoke). Grind the spices in a spice grinder. If you are using pre-ground spices, ignore and go on to the next step.

2. Mix all remaining ingredients. Place in a tightly covered container and refrigerate. This mixture can used with many combinations of legumes, rice or vegetables.

Gorgonzola Sauce

Gorgonzola Sauce

4 oz gorgonzola or other blue cheese (relatively mild flavor)
8 fl oz cream.
1 oz butter
salt and peper. (taste for salt first, blue cheese can be salty)

Heat cream and butter. Melt in cheese. Taste, and then flavor.

Enough for two people, best with curly pasta. Feel your arteries harden...
Very good, very cheap, and very very flexible...

For example, you can use canned smoked oysters and some grated hard cheese instead of the blue cheese, for another very good version. Or chopped lox.

No-knead Bread, Take 2

I made a second attempt at no-knead bread. It turns out that Mark Bittman revisited his article as well with a few suggestions, as well as many comments on the web (e.g. here and here). I made a number of changes, including usiing 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, double the yeast, a bit more salt, miller's bran instead of flour for dusting, and just a little less water. It was much improved.

No-knead bread

[One thing I like about the new version of blogger is that it lets you backdate the post time, to when I actually cooked something. I am posting this 11 days later]

I got around to trying the recipe for no-knead bread that appeared in the New York Times a while back. I've never been much of a bread baker, but this recipe appealed to me with its simplicity, so I tried it. The dough was almost a batter, very sticky.

The "dough"rose overnight, and was bubbly the next afternoon, when I tried to work it, but it was pretty gooey. All you need to do is fold it into thirds and let it rest before a final rising, but I wasn't very successful getting it to fold without sticking. Then I sat it on a heavily floured towel, and it rose a little, before baking it at 350 in a Le Crueset cast-iron casserole dish.

The crust was great, but it hadn't risen very much. If this had been an attempt at foccacia I might have been more pleased with the result. It also made a huge mess of the towel it was sitting on for the final rise, which may not be salvageable. I will try a few thing differently next time.

Blueberry Pancakes

We are pretty frustratingly bad at pancakes, and a week or so ago we saw a blueberry pancake recipe in Rob and Iris' Cook's Illustrated magazine that looked good. We mentioned it to them and they recommended the Giant Sunday Pancakes recipe from Epicurious. I made them this morning with blueberries, and they turned out pretty well. I thought they were a little too sweet, though, and might try halving the sugar next time. Now just to get the temperature in the pan right....

Osso Buco

This is good. Lamb shanks are expensive, and it takes a long time to simmer, but it's not that much work. The recipe below is a combination of one from The Silver Spoon and one from Mark Bittman. Serve with risotto. The only thing I might do different is use fresh thyme instead of dry, and cook it even longer than the suggested 90 minutes.

Osso Buco

2 tbl. olive oil
2 tbl. butter
4 center-cut slices veal shank, at least 2 lbs.
all-purpose flour, for dusting
5 tbl. dry white wine
¾ cup beef stock
1 cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped carrot
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
½ tsp. dried thyme

For the gremolata:
1 clove garlic, crushed
zest of ½ lemon, grated
2 tbl. chopped fresh parsley leaves

Preheat oven to 325º F. Melt 1 tbl. of butter in an ovenproof pan with 1 tbl. of oil. Dust the lamb shanks with with flour, salt and pepper and brown over high heat, turning frequently. Remove the lamb to a warm plate and add the remaining butter and oil to the pan. Turn down the heat slightly, and add the onion, stirring for a couple minutes until they start to soften. Add the carrot and celery, cook for a few more minutes, then add the wine and spices and cook until nearly evaporated. Add the stock, bring to a boil, then return the lamb to the pan. Cover and put in a 325º F oven. Cook for at least 90 minutes, turning the lamb ever 30 minutes or so.
When the meat is very tender and falls off the bone, remove it to a warm platter, and place the pot with sauce over high heat on the stove. Cook until thickened, mix together the ingredients for the gremolata and add to the sauce, cooking a few minutes more. Serve the sauce over the lamb.

Serves 4.

Tray-baked Salmon with Olives, Green Beans, and Tomatoes

Susan and John gave us Jamie Oliver's The Naked Chef cookbook for Christmas, and I asked her a while back for specific recipe recommendations. A few days ago she left a message on our machine telling us that they'd just made and devoured this; naturally, we tried it. I skipped the anchovies, feeling that I may just have eaten my lifetime fill of them in Malaysia, but sprinkled capers on the veggies in place of them. No doubt Susan, not to mention Jamie Oliver, would be horrified, but it was excellent. We don't roast veggies like this nearly as often as we should--we tend to get stuck in a rut of roasting root-type veggies only.

From The Naked Chef cookbook, page 97.

Tray-baked salmon with olives, green beans, anchovies, and tomatoes

7 oz. green beans, trimmed
20 small cherry tomatoes
1-2 good handfuls of black olives, pitted
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
four 8oz. thick salmon fillet steaks, with or without skin but definitely pinboned
2 lemons
1 handful of fresh basil
12 anchovy fillets, rinsed

Blanch the green beans until tender in boiling salted water, and drain. Put in a bowl with the cherry tomatoes and the olives. Toss in the olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Give the salmon fillets a quick wash under the tap and pat dry with paper towels. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon over the fillets, on both sides, then season both sides with salt and pepper and drizzle a little olive oil over the top. Preheat the oven and a roasting tray to 475 degrees. Put your 4 fillets of salmon at one end of the roasting tray. Toss the basil into the green beans, olives and tomatoes and place this mixture at the other end of the tray. Lay the anchovies over the green beans. Roast for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and serve with lemon quarters.

Smeteneh Kuchen

I've made this very rich coffee cake a couple times now, from a recipe on Epicurious: Ashkenazic Sour Cream Coffee Cake (Smeteneh Kuchen). It's very good, if you're willing to put 1½ sticks of butter in a single dish. I can't imagine wanting to put the optional glaze on top. It sounds good, but pouring another cup of sugar on top of the streusel would take this over the top, I think.

Upscale hotdish

We ran into the public library and grabbed about 20 books just before closing Saturday (architectural house styles, home renovation, and interior design--the latter to help us with ideas for colors, etc.), then wanted to go straight to the grocery store to shop. Of course, we hadn't planned meals for the following days, so on the way out to the libary Kels grabbed a huge stack of saved NYT magazine food pages, and then checked out that Bittman book The Best Recipes in the World (the jury is decidedly still out) from the library. We sat in Whole Foods drinking coffee and trying to decide what to make, and I came across this comfort food casserole that we hadn't tried, from Julia Reed in the New York Times Magazine on 10.26.03. It's not amazing, but as casseroles go, it's no banana goulash either.

Spinach and Artichoke Casserole
1 T. butter for greasing baking dish, 1/2 cup butter, melted for casserole, plus 1 T., melted, for topping
2 (10 oz.) packages frozen chopped spinach
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1/2 cup coarse Ritz cracker crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a shallow 2 qt. casserole.
2. Cook the spinach according to package directions, drain well, and place in a mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup of melted butter, the cream cheese and lemon juice and blend well with a fork.
3. Scatter the artichoke quarters evenly over the bottom of the greased casserole dish. Cover with the spinach mixture and smooth the top.
4. Cover the top with the Ritz crumbs, drizzle with 1 T. melted butter, and bake on the middle rack until bubbly in the center and lightly browned on top, about 25 minutes. Cool about 5 minutes and serve.

We didn't have any lemons (oops), so I put in a splash of apple cider vinegar. We also didn't have Ritz crackers so I used panko. Otherwise made according to the recipe, and served with some sausages.

Banana Goulash

One of the best recipes in the world? We made this last week, and though it wasn't terrible, but it was a bit odd. It seemed funnier to us every time we reheated the leftovers. I'm not sure we'll make it again.

Plantain and Meat Casserole (Caribbean)

2 tbl. olive oil
2 lb. ground beef
salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 red or green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1 tbl. minced garlic
1 tbl. paprika
1 tbl. ground cumin
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned are fine)
1 recipe Platanos Maduros (3-4 fried ripe plantains, sliced lengthwise)
2 eggs, lightly beaten, optional


1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Put the oil in a large skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. A minute later, ass the mean and some salt and pepper and cook, stirring to break up lumps, until it loses its color, just a couple of minutes. Remove with a a slotted spoon and add the onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring occassionally, until quite soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, cumin, oregano, and tomatoes and some more salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is saucy, 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Return the beef to the sauce and cook for another 5 minutes; taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Use about a third of the sauce to make a thin layer at the bottom of an 8 or 9 inch square casserole dish. Top with a layer of plantains, then more sauce, then the remaining plantains, then the remaining sauce. Pour the eggs over all if you like. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until heated through.

Mark Bittman, The Best Recipes in the World

Borscht with Meat

This borscht recipe was decent. It was fairly easy, with a food processor for the vegetables. I didn't use the white beans, and added 1/4 cup of vinegar at the end for a little tanginess. It still could use a little something.

Borscht with Meat (Russia)

MAKES	4 SERVINGS
TIME	1½ HOURS, LARGELY UNATTENDED

An unusual and unexpected variation on the traditional beef-and-vegetable stew, differing largely in its inclusion of beets, which deliver their distinctive sweetness and color. In fact it’s close to the vegetarian version of borscht, especially if you add the optional sour cream.

If you use chuck or brisket here, the cooking time will be longer but the stew will taste better; if you’re in a hurry, use tenderloin—you’ll save time but lose flavor.

	2 thick slices bacon, chopped 1 pound boneless beef, preferably from the chuck or brisket, cut into 1-inch cubes 2 onions, chopped 1 head of cabbage, preferably Savoy, cored and shredded 3 beets, peeled and roughly chopped 3 carrots, chopped 3 tomatoes, chopped 6 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable stock, preferably homemade, or water 2 cups cooked or canned white beans, like navy or Great Northern 1 cup sour cream, optional Salt and black pepper to taste
1.	Put the bacon in a large saucepan or flameproof casserole and turn the heat to medium. When it begins to render its fat, turn the heat up a bit and add the beef. Brown quickly, just 1 or 2 minutes per side. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 3 to 5 minutes.
2.	Stir in the cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the beets, carrots, tomatoes, and stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for at least 40 minutes or until the meat and carrots are tender. (You can prepare the borscht up to this point and let sit for a few hours or cover and refrigerate for up to a day before reheating and proceeding.)
3.	Stir in the beans and sour cream if you’re using it and heat through, stirring. Taste and add salt and pepper as necessary, then serve with crusty bread.

This is an example recipe on the Random House website for The Best Recipes in the World, by Mark Bittman.

Chicken and Chickpea Tagine with Vanilla

We picked up a copy of Mark Bittman's The Best Recipes in the World from the public library, based on liking a simple paella recipe I tried last week. Our first one from the book was a tagine last night. We left out the vanilla bean, but I'd like to try it next time. It was good.

This was in the NY Times in 2004.

CHICKEN AND CHICKPEA TAGINE
Time: 1 to 1 1/2 hours

2 tablespoons corn or canola oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne
1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned are fine; drain excess liquid)
4 cups chickpeas (canned are fine; drain and rinse first)
1/2 cup raisins or chopped pitted dates
1/2 vanilla bean
8 chicken thighs, or 4 leg-thigh pieces, cut in two
Chopped cilantro or parsley leaves.

1. Put oil and butter in a large skillet or casserole, which can be covered later, and turn heat to medium high. When butter melts, add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it softens, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, a large pinch of salt and spices. Cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, raisins and vanilla, and bring to a boil. (If mixture is very dry, add about 1/2 cup water.) Taste, and add salt as necessary.

2. Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt, and nestle them into sauce. Cover, and 5 minutes later adjust heat so mixture simmers steadily. Cook until chicken is very tender, 45 minutes to an hour. Taste, and adjust seasoning. Then garnish, and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.