didionville

d-man and i like to pick steven up from work and head over to a nearby chain (of course, and unfortunately) restaurant for lunch. this particular restaurant has been featuring a roasted butternut squash and apple soup. the soup tastes fine … i mean a chain restaurant’s fare is never going to bring nirvana to one’s palate, but the idea and competence of the soup made me want to develop my own. i knocked one out, finished with heavy cream, last month, but this month — lacking the cream — i made one that is just as creamy, but a lot less arterially damaging …

roasted butternut squash & apple soup

• 1 pretty hefty butternut squash (a nice two pounder or so), peeled and cut into one-inch cubes
• 3 apples cut into one-inch cubes, peel intact … we had rome apples on hand; i want to try this recipe with macs or granny smiths
• 3 large garlic cloves, peeled
• olive oil
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 medium-to-large onion … rough chopped
• 2 handfuls baby carrots … rough chopped
• 3 large celery stalks … throw some celery leaves in, too, if you want … rough chopped
• 32 oz. chicken stock/broth … i used to use this kind; now i use this one … of course, if you make your own, bully for you! (i am quite envious!)
• 1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 heaping tsp. each of dried thyme leaves and ground cardamom
• 1-2 tbsp. brown sugar, packed
• salt & fresh-ground black pepper

1. on a parchment-lined jellyroll pan, toss the butternut squash and apple cubes and garlic cloves with enough olive to lightly coat. season with salt and pepper. bake in 400-degree oven for 20-25 minutes until fork-tender and caramelized on the edges. turn the stuff once or twice during cooking, especially since the pan will likely be a tad crammed.
2. halfway through the roasting period, melt butter in a large dutch oven or some other appropriate pot. saute the mirepoix for a good 10 minutes or so … at least until the onion is nicely softened and translucent. don’t forget to season with salt and pepper.
3. remove the roasted squash-apple-garlic mixture from the oven. combine with the cooking mirepoix, and saute an additional 5 minutes.
4. add chicken broth/stock. bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer another 5-10 minutes.
5. transfer soup in batches to a blender, blending until smooth … or use an immersion blender right on the stove top.
6. return the blended, smooth mixture to the soup pot. (if you find it too thick, add water or additional stock incrementally; personally, i like a thick and hearty texture.) add the cayenne, thyme, cardamom, and brown sugar, and TASTE, TASTE, TASTE … adjust spices to your liking; though, i wouldn’t do any more cayenne … and don’t forget to add salt and pepper … this is going to be a large batch of soup, so it needs (and can handle) more salt than you might think.
7. finish the soup by serving in cups or bowls, topped with a nice drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil … or hefty dollops of creme fraiche and chopped chives … or simple croutons … or some yummy combination of these things.

i caught an episode of lidia’s italy a couple of weeks ago. of course, she was making homemade pasta (tagliatelle) and doing amazing stuff with it. she finished the show tossing the pasta with a ricotta, walnut, parsley, and parm mixture. it was mega-easy and wouldn’t make the kitchen unbearable in the summer heat. (there has been minimal activity in front of the stove over the last several weeks … too effin’ hot.)

anyway, i did my own take on it tonight. steven has already declared it one of his favorite things from my repertoire. i have no name for it, and i can’t find the original recipe on her site … i suppose since it is a bastardized version of another recipe, it is fitting that it remain nameless.

no-name ricotta & pasta thingamagig (that serves 4)

• pasta — i am guessing i used about three-quarters of a box of whole-grain linguine … in truth, it was about a third of a box each of linguine and penne … i wanted to get rid of both partial boxes …
• 15-oz. container part-skim ricotta
• 1 cup chopped hazelnuts — yes, lidia used walnuts, but so what … walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans … i think any is fine!
• 1 clove garlic (finely chopped or pressed)
• 1 cup (medium-to-finely) chopped arugula — yes, she used parsley, but by now, you should know i renew a torrid affair with arugula every summer.
• 1/4-1/3 cup grated parmesan
• 2 boneless, skinless breasts — lidia specifically called her recipe a vegetarian option. i wasn’t going to use meat, but there was a killer deal on breasts at the grocery store today. (i season with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, dried thyme leaves, and garlic powder.)
• 1 tbsp each unsalted butter and olive oil
• kosher salt and black pepper to taste

1. get your pasta going. don’t forget to generously salt your water!
2. heat the butter in a skillet and after the bubbling in the butter calms down (meaning the water is cooking out), add the olive oil (to prevent the butter from burning). once the oil and butter are nice and hot, start cooking the seasoned chicken over med-high heat … about 5-6 minutes per side. don’t move it around! RESIST! RESIST! RESIST! you want a nice caramelized sear on each side — plop it down, wait the five/six minutes, then turn it. don’t touch it again until another five/six minutes elapse.
3. while the pasta and chicken are cooking, combine the ricotta, garlic clove, hazelnuts, parmesan, and arugula in a medium mixing bowl. season as necessary with salt and pepper. (though, watch it on the salt since you are already using parmesan.)
4. let chicken rest for about five minutes.
5. drain pasta, BUT BUT BUT reserve at least a half cup of pasta water. combine pasta and ricotta mixture. (i mixed it all in the pasta pot.) add pasta water to loosen the ricotta mixture and encourage creaminess.
6. thinly slice chicken on the bias.
7. load up plates or deep bowls with pasta; evenly distribute chicken among servings, topping pasta with the meat.
8. CHOW DOWN!

and believe me, it ain’t easy getting consistently good avocados in the stores around here … actually, that’s kinda true most places. the best avocados ever were the ones that grew on the tree next door to my parents’ house and hung over the fence, ripe — literally, figuratively — for the picking. i am rarely up for buying rock-hard avocados and praying for smooth, unbruised, non-fibrous ripening.

but this week, hormones won out. avocados were purchased at the red hook hannaford, and so far we are two-for-three … they have been quite tasty. i will be wolfing down the last one a little later today.

the preferred mode of avocado delivery this go-round:

arugula salad … and not just any arugula salad …

i am totally in love with the nature’s place organic baby arugula i get a hannaford. it is firm and fresh, and you get a lot for the dinero. i am also totally in love with the quality of the cherries this season. cherry season seems to have lasted quite long this year, and the other day, i splurged on rainier cherries. then there are the usual suspects — recipients of my love: strawberries, bright yellow bell peppers, english cukes, and nettle meadow’s mixed herbs chevre.

so i topped a mound of arugula, cherries, sliced strawberries, finely diced bells & cukes, and scoops of goat cheese with soft, creamy slices of avocado … and a quick-and-dirty vinaigrette (dijon, balsamic, olive oil, salt, pepper) … YUM!

incidentally, i cannot remember where i got the tip, but the easy (albeit hand staining) way to pit cherries without any fancy contraptions is to roll/lightly squish the cherry on a cutting board with the palm/heel of your hand and then tear the fruit open, plucking out the pit. the result is not beautifully sliced cherries, but who cares! the juices get flowing, the pit is out cleanly … what more could you want! (though, you will look like a murderer after using this technique on bings. i macerated a bunch of bing cherries earlier in the week — to top angel food cake — and i still have some staining around the cuticles from pitting the fruit.)

totally nuts … rabid craving for braised cabbage … it totally hit me like a tornado out of nowhere, so i had to whip it together with stuff laying around. luckily i had a head of cabbage, and steven had a spare beer. i can count on half a hand how many times i have eaten braised cabbage in the last five years before last night, but now it is my favorite food ever. anyway …

quick-and-dirty recipe:

• 1 white or yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 head green or red cabbage, cored, halved and thinly sliced. (i used green … probably just shy of a two pounder.)
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 cup good beer (you seriously will be in heaven if you use a belgian ale. they are on the sweeter side and make a nifty sauce with the butter. try a domestic micro-brew belgian white. yum!)
• salt and pepper to taste

1. melt the butter in a good-sized saute pan (think 12-incher).
2. cook onions until soft … about 10 minutes.
3. add cabbage and stir, incorporating with butter and softened onions.
4. add some salt and pepper … i never measure … guesstimate a heavy tsp of each.
5. stir in the beer.
6. bring to simmer for a couple of minutes. cover the pan and lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for about 20 minutes … until cabbage is nice and soft and cooking liquid is a buttery, creamy light yellow (if using a light-colored beer … look for creaminess in color if using a darker beer).
7. add more salt and pepper to taste.

pregnancy hormones have dictated regularly that i consume large amounts of saag at one sitting. i can’t get enough of the stuff. those same hormones have also “suggested” (as hormones, as a rule, are known for subtlety) that i make my chicken saag without chicken … rather make channa (chickpea) saag or aloo (potato) saag or channa-aloo saag … bottom line: the chicken has left the coop.

thus, i offer my amended saag recipe:

chicken saag, sans-chicken (serves 6-8. it’s totally freezable, too.)

2 10-oz bags fresh spinach leaves, rinsed

2-3 fresh green chilis, seeded and chopped (i like at least one to have seeds for additional heat.)

2 tbsp chopped fresh ginger root

4 garlic cloves, chopped

4 tbsp water (i use the spinach-wilting water.)

2 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil (i use canola oil.)

8 black peppercorns (i use about a dozen.)

1 bay leaf

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 cup canned tomatoes, drained (i use one 14.5 oz can of muir glen organic diced tomatoes. they are very good.)

1 tsp chili powder

2 tbsp curry paste (i don’t make my own or have curry paste. instead, i use either 2 tbsp garam masala or 1 tbsp curry powder and 1 tsbp garam masala.)

salt (to taste)

2/3 cup chicken stock (i use kitchen basics chicken stock.)

6 tbsp plain yogurt, plus extra to garnish

2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed OR 3 unpeeled medium-to-large white round or yukon gold potatoes diced (1/2-inch chunks) OR 1 can chickpeas and 1-2 potatoes

***

1. place the spinach in a large pan with just the water clinging to the leaves after rinsing, then cover and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until wilted. Depending on your pan size, you likely will have to do a couple of batches. I can pile all of the spinach in one 12-inch, straight-sided saute pan.) Transfer to a food processor or blender and add the green chili, ginger, garlic, and (4 tbsp) water. process until smooth.

2. wipe out pan. heat the ghee (or oil). add the peppercorns and bay leaf and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes, or until they give off their aroma. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until golden. add the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon. add the chili powder and curry paste and season with salt to taste. cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.

3. add the chickpeas and/or potatoes. stir well to coat with tomato/onion/spice mixture. cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes.

4. stir in the spinach/chili puree with the stock and simmer for 5 minutes. add the yogurt, 1 tbsp at a time, stirring well after each addition, then simmer for an additional 5 minutes. cover and simmer for 30 minutes (chickpeas only), or 45 minutes (potatoes) until tender and cooked through. serve immediately (on basmati or jasmine rice), garnished with extra yogurt.

artichoke season is over, but keep this in mind for next spring …

• 2 medium artichokes (trim the end of the stem; remove the layers of the toughest outer leaves; trim the thorny tops of remaining leaves; cut into quarters; scoop out fuzzy choke just above the heart with a small spoon, but be careful not to destroy the structure of the veggie)
• 2-3 cups of green cabbage (rough chopped)
• 1 medium (white or yellow) onion cut into thin-to-medium slices
• juice of two lemons (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp each kosher salt and fresh-ground pepper

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. combine lemon juice, olive oil, and water in a bowl. put artichokes, onion, and cabbage in medium-to-large dutch oven. pour juice/oil/water mixture over ‘chokes, etc. toss. add salt and pepper. toss again.
3. cover dutch oven with aluminum foil. put lid on top of foil. (we are super-sealing the pot.)
4. put pot in oven and leave it alone for 45 minutes or so.
5. serve four easily as a side, or two as a green-veg entree. make sure to add some cooking liquid to each plate, and check salt/pepper levels. you might want to add a little more of each after cooking.

YUM!

yes, yes, summer is the time for glorious stone fruit, blah, blah, blah … but unless it’s coming off your tree, you have limitless budget to make daily trips to whole foods, or you can haul your cookies to a farmers market every week, too often summer stone fruits — peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, etc,. — from the regular ol’ grocery store are disappointing … buy them when they are hard as rocks, let them “ripen” in the kitchen, and they go from inedible to mushy and tastless.

BUT there is a cure!

slow roasting tomatoes has long been a secret weapon against mealiness. (tomatoes are another fruit that, while lacking pits, are often heartbreakingly tasteless — all year round — from the grocery store.)

yesterday, we had to move it or lose it on tomatoes and fruit i had bought earlier in the week. i had white peaches, a mango, and a couple of tomatoes that needed immediate attention. to be fair, i got lucky on the peaches and the mango. they were pretty tasty, but i figured i could maximize taste if i roasted them with the tomatoes. the result was fan-freaking-tastic.

here’s a quickie (if you ignore the 3-1/2 hours of oven time) way to make mega-yummy fruit to spread onto sandwiches or serve chilled as a delicate side …

slow-roasted fruit

• 2-3 medium tomatoes (who cares what variety?! use a whole container of cherry tomatoes, cut in half, if you want), sliced fairly thick
• 3 peaches (that aren’t rock hard), pitted and sliced into 6-8 wedges
• 1 mango (the riper the fruit, the greater the yield versus pit size. i used a pretty ripe mango.) similarly sliced into relatively thick wedges/strips
• 4-5 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
• kosher salt & fresh ground pepper (and other dried herbs, if you wish: thyme, tarragon, rosemary) to taste
• olive oil for drizzling
• remember: you can use whatever combination of stone fruits you want

1. on a parchment-lined (very important for easy removal of all yumminess) jelly-roll or cookie sheet, scatter the tomatoes, garlic, and other fruit. make sure to mix it up, so that tomatoes are next to mangos are next to peaches, and make sure the garlic cloves are evenly distributed. also, make sure to dump whatever juices are left over from cutting everything up onto the pan.
2. season the slices with the salt, pepper, etc., but remember: slow roasting is going to evaporate the water in the fruit, highly condensing the sugars (flavors) … so a little salt, etc. goes a long way.
3. lightly drizzle the slices with olive oil. (again, a little goes a long way. go easy!)
4. stick the sheet in a preheated oven (225-degrees … if necessary, you can go to 250, but watch the slices after 2-1/2 hours).
5. leave the whole thing alone for 3-1/2 to 4 hours. you are looking for shriveling and carmelization. there should be no liquid bubbling on the parchment.

so what to do with all of the deliciousness that abounds?

yesterday, we made a gourmet play on BLTs:

1. after removing the fruit from the oven, crank up the temperature to 425 degrees. transfer the fruit to a plate and let sit. (make sure you get all of the carmelized pieces of juice, etc. off the parchment.) line the jelly-roll pan (gotta have something with edges all around) with foil and place a cooling rack on it. lay bacon strips (1 lb) on rack in pan. put the whole thing in oven and cook bacon to desired doneness. (personally, i have to have mega-crispy bacon. it’s in the oven for at least 20 minutes.) the benefits to doing bacon in the oven include (1) no grease splattering, and (2) no shriveling.
2. cut open a couple of sandwich rolls (we have really tasty rosemary focaccia rolls.) and drizzle open sides with olive oil. in the last 10 minutes of bacon-cook time, put rolls in the oven to toast.
3. remove rolls and bacon from oven. cut open an avocado and spread on toasted rolls. evenly distribute the fruit and bacon on the bread. squeeze the garlic cloves evenly on same. add thin slices of fresh mozzarella or thin layers of fromage blanc.

you can serve these open faced for four, or close them up as single sandwiches for two. you can also cut the rolls up in large-canape-size pieces before toasting and serve them as appetizers.

you can also forgo the bacon entirely. use grilled chicken instead. or go entirely meatless. add roasted cashews or almonds. (if you have unroasted nuts, throw some on the pan with the fruit.)

OR do bacon, chicken, AND nuts … who cares?!

you will NOT be disappointed no matter what variation!

when we went to philly in april, we — of course — cruised the reading terminal market. i picked up some awesome berry (body) butter from amazulu. it is seriously good stuff. we also bought some honey cream from bee natural. i love honey cream. of course, it’s a texture i prefer to liquid honey, but i also think there is a qualitative difference in taste.

i make a really yummy dressing with the honey cream. here’s the recipe:

• a couple of heaping tablespoons of honey cream
• whip the cream in a bowl (with a fork — keep it simple) to make it easier to incorporate with the vinegar …
• slowly add an equal amount of balsamic vinegar to the cream. the honey is so beautiful, it will actually become pearlescent in the balsamic … once that is incorporated, taste it … if you want more balsamic flavor, add more … more honey flavor? add more honey … this is a super-chill “recipe” …
• add kosher salt (it won’t dissolve; it doesn’t dissolve in cold stuff, but don’t worry — use table salt if this bugs you) and fresh-ground pepper to taste. you can also throw in pinches of dry herbs — thyme or tarragon, for instance. you can also add fresh lemon juice and a little lemon pulp, but if you do that, cut down on the balsamic so you don’t get too runny …

i have used this dressing on all sorts of salads. it is especially good on arugula, which — when good — is so peppery and strong that is stands up tastily to the sweet of the honey. the dressing is also a really nice glaze for chicken breasts. (cook chicken breasts on the stovetop and pour dressing on top in the last minutes of cooking to make a nice mahogany-colored glaze.)

i have also slowly added sour cream to the dressing to boost creamy consistency for coleslaw.

here are a salad and coleslaw recipe we’ve been munching on this summer:

*** *** *** *** ***

arugula/strawberry salad (about 4 servings)

• one nice-sized bunch of arugula — if the arugula is too potent for you, use a mix of arugula and romaine — roungh chopped
• one dozen or so medium-sized strawberries … the darker the berry, the better … sliced lengthwise … you should get about four or five slices per strawberry.
• 1/2 cup or so of jicama … peeled and cut into a large julienne
• 2 medium-large green onions … fine chop … use all of them (green and white)
• 1/4 cup or so of sliced almonds

i’ve also thrown in blueberries, dried apricots, cucumber … whatever’s around. it’s a salad. it’s summer. relax.

*** *** *** *** ***

coleslaw (8-10 servings)

• 2 cups each of green and red cabbage — chopped, shredded, or however you like it cut up …
• 4 medium-large green onions (chop the whole things)
• 1 medium yellow summer squash, julienned
• 3 large carrots, shredded
• 1/2 cup or so of rough-chopped cashews
• sour cream version of the dressing (see above)

yum!

*** *** *** *** ***

so we blew through the bee natural honey cream lickety-split, BUT i found a honey i like EVEN BETTER. remsburger maple farm & apiary cold-extracted native wildflower honey ROCKS MY WORLD! for hudson valley locals, you can get it at adams … everyone else: go here or call 845.635.9168.

um, seriously, i made the BEST dressing/stuffing ever. i took my mom’s recipe, which is very good and i’ve made for a bajillion years, and tweaked it in all sorts of fabulous ways. here’s the recipe …

the stuff

• 1/2 loaf italian bread (or french baguette), cubed (1/2 – 3/4 inch)
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp dried sage
• 2-1/2 cups celery, medium chop
• 1 medium (white or yellow) onion, medium dice
• 3 leeks, medium chop from white through light-green
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 cup parmesean cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, fine chop
• 1 cup walnuts, medium chop
• 1 cup hazelnuts, medium chop
• 1/2 cup figs, roughly chopped
• kosher salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

the how

1. several hours before making the dressing, cube the bread. do NOT cut off the crust! lay the bread out, flat, on a cookie sheet and let it dry out. you can speed this process up by putting the cookie sheet in a low-heat oven until the bread feels dry but not toasted.
2. melt butter in a large (12″) saute pan. (i have a 12″, 5 qt. pan that works perfectly for this recipe.)
3. add sage and thyme to melted butter. stir and saute for a couple of minutes.
4. add onions, celery, and leeks. stir and saute for a good 10 minutes … you want everything nice and soft.
5. stir in chicken stock, parmesean, and parsley. stir constantly so the parmesean distributes evenly.
6. add salt and pepper. (i like a fat teaspoon — or two — of salt and a good 20 grinds of the pepper mill.)
7. stir in walnuts and hazelnuts.
8. once nuts are distributed and coated, fold in bread cubes and, finally, the figs. be careful to fold! you don’t want to munch the figs.

once everything is heated through, you can serve it right out of the pan or stuff the bird or transfer to a baking dish and toast up in the oven. you can also nibble on it from the stove top as you make the rest of t-day dinner (not that i would know anything about that) …

this makes a lot of dressing, which is a good thing in my house. this recipe is plenty to keep a party of 8-10 people very happy.

YUM!

(by the way … this is how you clean leeks … (1) chop the unwashed leeks; (2) put chopped leeks into a bowl of cold water; (3) let leeks soak for a few minutes, gently swishing them around in the water with your hand; (4) transfer the leeks to a colander, being sure not to dump the now sandy water on them; (5) rinse the leeks in the colander with cold water; (6) drain.)