Below the fold: Bête Noire Bars and other thwarted cooking projects, Mexican Slaw, and Cherry Vinegar:
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Friday, June 29, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Cooking Digest 6/8-6/15
Below the fold: Orange Pull-Apart Loaf, my own Deconstructed BLT Tart, Gallopinto, Potato Pancakes, and Gingered Swiss Chard Omelet.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Paul's Pie: Deconstructed BLT Tart
Deconstructed BLT Tart |
Paul wanted a bacon crust.
"Do you want bacon in the crust?" I asked.
"No," he answered. "I want a crust that IS bacon."
I happily googled "bacon crust recipe" and discovered this very promising recipe.
"How about this?" I asked.
"No," Paul said. "I want crust AND bacon crust."
Well! I do like a culinary conundrum, but folks who know me know that I cook more comfortably from recipes. Still, I wanted to satisfy Paul's quest for pie. Since it's already June and a crust + bacon crust seems pretty heavy to me, I decided to fill the crust with seasonable vegetables rather than something quiche-like--and backing away from bacon and eggs led me to the BLT, which always tastes best with summer tomatoes.
What follows is my first effort to make a seasonal version of Paul's Pie, which cobbles together the recipe above and vamps on David Lebovitz's French Tomato Tart recipe, which I've made several times with stupendous results. The bacon comes from Godfrey Bros. Meats, the arugula from my Sterling Farm CSA share on the advice of Jonathan Darby, and the tomatoes from Brogue Hydroponics, who manage to grow delicious tomatoes in early June! The spinach and oregano were from my tiny shady garden.
Side view of a slice. |
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Sunday, October 16, 2011
Local and Seasonal: Pumpkin Stuffed With Everything Good
Pumpkin fresh from the oven. |
Flash forward to October 15, 2011, when I'm on my second go with this recipe since the pumpkin season hit. While pumpkin growers in the Northeast had their crops devastated by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, I still managed to find two PA pumpkins at the Whole Foods in Mt. Washington, MD, and I shipped them back home with me. I like the "bonne idée" section at the end of the recipe; both times I've used chard, the first time I subbed in 1.5 cups of brown rice, and this time I left out the thyme and added in about a tablespoon of ginger to complement the Star Anise and Ginger Chicken that I'm going to have as the main with my stuffed pumpkin tonight.
Try this recipe! If enough people eat Pumpkin Stuffed With Everything Good, maybe stores will carry pie pumpkins after Halloween!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Found Food: Spiced Kuri Squash and Chicken Stew
When one impulse buys a 4-pound Kuri squash, it then behooves one to find a recipe that uses it. This is the recipe that I found--and since I have a habit of finding food before I find the recipe, I'm creating a new tag.
All of the vegetables and the chicken are local; the broth, while not homemade, has made use of leftover broth from my roomie's fabulous pilaf that she made me two nights ago. I placed the onion, garlic, and ginger ends and peels in my freezer bag o' stock scraps.
ETA: This recipe was originally posted in September 2010; it's now 2 October 2011, and I made this again deboning 2 lbs of leg quarters--NOT for the timid but an excellent way to get bones for the freezer hoard for future broth--to get 1.25 lbs of meat. I also took photos! Next time I make this, I may use coconut milk in place of the broth, since I bet that's worth the calories.
The amazing Red Kuri Squash |
All of the vegetables and the chicken are local; the broth, while not homemade, has made use of leftover broth from my roomie's fabulous pilaf that she made me two nights ago. I placed the onion, garlic, and ginger ends and peels in my freezer bag o' stock scraps.
ETA: This recipe was originally posted in September 2010; it's now 2 October 2011, and I made this again deboning 2 lbs of leg quarters--NOT for the timid but an excellent way to get bones for the freezer hoard for future broth--to get 1.25 lbs of meat. I also took photos! Next time I make this, I may use coconut milk in place of the broth, since I bet that's worth the calories.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Phyllo Feta Torte: Entertaining Menu Option
Guests are very often my kitchen guinea pigs, since I normally use them to debut new recipes that have captured my fancy. Thankfully, my choices are seldom failures--it's a bit risky to mix a new recipe and company. I've been a cooking fiend in recent weeks but got too busy to post. This is a catch-up with some truly must-try dishes that I've made recently.
When my friend Missi was here, I pulled out all the stops for a dinner I hosted for her. Not only did I make the Phyllo Feta Torte mentioned in the title, but I had her teach me how to grill by making Beef Andouille Burgers, and I did Epicurious's Lemon Curd Tart for dessert, which I highly recommend.
The Phyllo Feta Torte is one of my NYT finds. Apparently it's traditional fare at Greek Orthodox Easter celebrations. It's also the single easiest way to use phyllo dough that I have encountered (spanakopita is the hardest, baklava relatively easy). In fact, the whole recipe is a cinch to make, yet everyone gasps at its beauty when you unmold it. While it doesn't hit my cooking-for-myself trifecta of easy, healthy, and yummy, it more than meets my cooking-for-guests trifecta of easy, gorgeous, and yummy. This dish may well be the winningest I have.
When I made it the first time, I was delighted with how it tasted plain, but then I bravely tried the honey--yes, honey with feta and dill!--and ZOMG it was transcendent! A light to heavy drizzle of local honey really should be a requirement for this impressive and easy dish, and everyone who likes flaky pastry and a complex array of flavors should give this baby a go.
When my friend Missi was here, I pulled out all the stops for a dinner I hosted for her. Not only did I make the Phyllo Feta Torte mentioned in the title, but I had her teach me how to grill by making Beef Andouille Burgers, and I did Epicurious's Lemon Curd Tart for dessert, which I highly recommend.
The Phyllo Feta Torte is one of my NYT finds. Apparently it's traditional fare at Greek Orthodox Easter celebrations. It's also the single easiest way to use phyllo dough that I have encountered (spanakopita is the hardest, baklava relatively easy). In fact, the whole recipe is a cinch to make, yet everyone gasps at its beauty when you unmold it. While it doesn't hit my cooking-for-myself trifecta of easy, healthy, and yummy, it more than meets my cooking-for-guests trifecta of easy, gorgeous, and yummy. This dish may well be the winningest I have.
When I made it the first time, I was delighted with how it tasted plain, but then I bravely tried the honey--yes, honey with feta and dill!--and ZOMG it was transcendent! A light to heavy drizzle of local honey really should be a requirement for this impressive and easy dish, and everyone who likes flaky pastry and a complex array of flavors should give this baby a go.
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