Pumpkin Stuffed with Vegetable Stew

The Pumpkin Stuffed with Vegetable Stew was the centerpiece of the Vegetarian portion of our Thanksgiving, which comprises about half of our family. The recipe came from Gourmet Magazine, but I made a couple of adjustments to get to the final product. I was a little nervous that this was going to be all flair and not very tasty, but actually it was really quite delicious and satisfying. I would make this again for any kind of Fall dinner party. Serve with a rice pilaf to soak up the sauce.

The original recipe called for one large baking pumpkin, but of course, none of the four stores we visited had any and the best I could find were actually in the floral department. Using three smaller pumpkins worked out well though because I was able to make one stew without mushrooms for those who don't dig the fungus.

Pumpkin Stuffed with Vegetable Stew

1 fennel bulb with fronds
2 medium parsnips (1/2 pound total), peeled, quartered, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound celery root (sometimes called celeriac; 1/2 of 1 medium), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
14 small shallots (about 1 pound), peeled and left whole, plus 1/2 cup chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided 2 red bell peppers
1 (8- to 9-lb) pumpkin (preferably cheese, pie, or Sweet Meat variety)
Roasted-vegetable and wine sauce, heated
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 pound fresh cremini mushrooms, trimmed and halved
1 package dried chanterelle mushrooms, resuscitated
1/2 pound seitan (seasoned wheat gluten), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon chopped thyme, divided
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Roast root vegetables (day before):
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle. Chop enough fennel fronds to measure 1 tablespoon and reserve, then discard stalks and remaining fronds. Halve bulb lengthwise, then core and cut lengthwise into 1-inch wedges.

Toss fennel wedges, parsnips, celery root, carrots, and whole shallots with 2 tablespoons oil, teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a 17- by 12-inch shallow baking pan until coated, then roast, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and almost tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove vegetables from oven. Leave oven on.

Prepare peppers and pumpkins while vegetables roast:
Roast peppers on racks of gas burners over high heat, turning with tongs, until skins are blistered, 5 to 8 minutes.

Transfer peppers to a bowl and let stand, covered, until cool enough to handle. Peel peppers and discard stems and seeds. Cut peppers lengthwise into 1-inch strips.

Remove top of pumpkins by cutting a circle (6 inches in diameter) around stem with a small sharp knife. Scrape out and discard seeds and any loose fibers from inside pumpkin with a spoon (including top of pumpkin; do not discard top), then sprinkle flesh with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Put pumpkins in a large roasting pan.

Stuff and roast pumpkins:
Pour 1/2 cup sauce into each pumpkin and cover with top, then brush all over with remaining tablespoon oil. Roast 1/2 hour.

While pumpkins roast, heat butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then sauté chopped shallots until softened. Add mushrooms and sauté until they are browned and begin to give off liquid, about 8 minutes. Add wheat gluten and 1/2 teaspoon thyme, then stir in 1 1/2 cups more sauce and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and fold in roasted root vegetables and peppers, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper.

After pumpkins have roasted 1/2 hour, spoon vegetable filling into it, then cover with top. Roast until pumpkin is tender when pierced with a fork, vegetables are tender, and filling is hot, about 30 minutes more. Transfer pumpkin to a platter using 2 sturdy metal spatulas.

Stir together fennel fronds, parsley, zest, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme and sprinkle half of it over filling. Stir remainder into remaining sauce and serve sauce on the side. Serve with Rice Pilaf to soak up sauce.

Roasted-Vegetable and Wine Sauce

1 large leek (white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise
5 carrots, quartered
1 head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
2 red bell peppers, quartered
1 pound plum tomatoes, halved
1 fennel bulb, stalks discarded and bulb quartered
2 large onions, quartered
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup boiling water
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms (1 cup)
1 (4-inch) piece celery
4 parsley stems
1 large thyme sprig
8 black peppercorns
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
1 cup dry red wine
4 quart water
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil; 1 1/2 ounces)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour

Roast vegetables:
Preheat oven to 450°F with rack in middle.

Wash leek halves and pat dry.

Toss leek, carrots, garlic, bell peppers, plum tomatoes, fennel, and onions with oil, then spread in a 17- by 14-inch roasting pan and roast, stirring occasionally, until well browned and tender, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

Soak porcini and make bouquet garni while vegetables roast:
Pour boiling water over porcini in a bowl and soak until softened, 10 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, wrap celery, parsley stems, thyme sprig, peppercorns, and bay leaves in a piece of cheesecloth and tie with string.

Lift out porcini, squeezing excess liquid back into bowl, and rinse to remove any grit. Pour soaking liquid through a sieve lined with a dampened paper towel into another bowl.

Make stock:
Transfer roasted vegetables to a 6- to 8-quart pot and add wine to roasting pan, then deglaze pan by boiling, scraping up brown bits, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine to vegetables in pot along with water (4 quarts), porcini and soaking liquid, bouquet garni, sun-dried tomatoes, and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer, uncovered, until stock is reduced to about 6 cups, about 2 hours. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing firmly on and then discarding solids.

Make sauce:
Melt butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat and whisk in flour, then cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add stock in a stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, then bring to a boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Back in the Kitchen (Eggplant Stacks)

I am on a quest. It's a quest of grand proportions and one I've been on for quite a while: Get Bryan to like eggplant.

Already, I've won the curry battle and, more recently, the asparagus war. The latter was won primarily by first hiding it in lasagna and later roasting it with olive oil. But eggplant? That's another matter altogether.

In an effort towards full disclosure, my cooking is not what has led Bryan to consider eggplant as a reasonable source of nutrition. That award goes to The East Side Italian Deli by way of Maria, who brought over their amazing Eggplant Parmesan sandwiches the other day. Fantastic! And now Bryan's hooked on them. So I decided to make my own eggplant meal the other night. Here's how it went:

Ashley's Eggplant Stacks of Fun

Ingredients

2 Globe eggplants
Panko Bread Crumbs
Several Eggs & Flour
Olive Oil
Mozzarella Cheese
Fresh Basil
Cherry Tomatoes

Slice the eggplants, dredge the slices in flour, egg and then panko. Heat Olive Oil and fry the eggplant slices until golden brown. Set aside to drain....

...making sure to avoid the growing pile of folded laundry that threatens to take over your table.

Slice the mozzarella (and I highly recommend always using fresh if possible) and shred the basil. Now stack slices of eggplant with a slice of cheese in between each as well as some basil and salt. Halve the cherry tomatoes and toss around stacks with basil, salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and tomatoes have softened.

Serve to a husband, now thoroughly converted to eggplant eating. Here's an example of one:

Spinach Lasagna

As promised, here's my recipe for Spinach Lasagna. By my I really mean our recipe (mine, mom's and, oh yeah, Deborah Madison, from whom we cribbed this).

I'm going to explain this in the order in which I usually make it (which is rare because it does take some time). These amounts work in my mom's big lasagna pan, I'd halve most of it for a smaller pan. Also, I made an obscene amount of pasta dough thinking I'd have a ton extra. Because I made this without the benefit of a pasta machine (I had stolen my mom's years ago so now hers lives in LA), so the noodles were divinely thick. I hand rolled them out. You probably wouldn't need to make this much dough if you were using a machine.

In Order:
TOMATO SAUCE
I have to admit that mine is different every time I make it. Basically I use whatever veggies are in the fridge and about to turn on me (I've made it with fennel and zucchini and all sorts of crazy things) For a recipe like this though it would go something like:

Olive Oil
2 leeks, cleaned and diced
1 carrot, diced
1 purple or yellow onion
Some garlic cloves crushed
1 celery stalk, diced
1 LARGE can of diced tomatoes
A cup-ish of red wine
Splash of balsamic or red wine vinegar
maybe some sugar
2-6 fresh tomatoes (depending on what's on hand) - I don't bother to peel and seed these, I just toss them in the processor and process them for a few pulses
Herbs: basil, bay lead, oregano, a twig of fresh thyme if possible, salt, pepper etc.

So it's pretty basic: Heat the olive oil. Saute the veggies (up to the canned tom's) until they're soft. Add the canned tomatoes, fresh tom's, wine, vinegar, sugar, and herbs and let simmer until it thickens. Sometimes I'll also add veggie broth and then let that cook down. For this lasagna, I made all of this the night before I assembled it and let it just sit on the cold stove overnight. (This is what I then processed a few days later to make the pizza sauce)

Next step: I make the Pasta dough (I quadrupled this recipe, but for a small dish I'd just double it)

EGG PASTA DOUGH

1 cup all-purpose flour (I'm not going to preach about this anymore, but seriously, BUY ORGANIC STONE-GROUND FLOUR - it will taste better)
Salt
1 large egg
1 tsp olive oil
some water, maybe

You know the drill. Mound the flour, make a well. Beat egg & oil in well, gradually incorporating the surrounding flour. Get all the flour mixed in and then add a few drops of water if it needs to be brought together.

Kneed for 10 minutes. Cover and let rest for at least 1 hour.

While the dough is resting, I move on:

SPINACH FILLING

The key with this is really the lemon zest. It makes the dish divine. DO NOT LEAVE IT OUT...otherwise you'll end up with just your average, if tasty, lasagna.

2-3 bunches of spinach, thoroughly washed (you can substitute frozen or baby, but it won't be as good)
Olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves
Salt, pepper, nutmeg
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 cup Parmesan
Parsley
2 tsp lemon zest

Chop spinach. Saute onions & garlic in oil. Add spinach and salt. Cook until wilted; move to a bowl and combine with cheeses, eggs, parley and lemon zest. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

CHEESE

Grate 8-16 oz of mozzarella cheese. We always use regular, though the recipe suggests fresh, which I will be trying next time.

Now I make the sauce for the bottom and top of the lasagna:

BECHAMEL SAUCE

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
2 cups milk
Salt, pepper and nutmeg

Melt butter and add the flour. Cook over low for 2 - 3 minutes to get rid of the starchy flavor of flour. Stir constantly. Scald the milk in a separate pan and then and stir it into the butter combo. Whisk away! Season and cook on low for 15 min, occasionally stirring until thickened.

ROLL OUT YOUR DOUGH and cook the pieces in boiling water. Don't leave them in a heap, they'll stick. Rinse in cold water and stretch out over kitchen towels.

SPINACH, CHEESE AND TOMATO LASAGNA

I always butter the pan just in case. Then spread half of the bechamel over the bottom of the pan. Follow with a layer of noodles. Now some tomato sauce and a layer of cheese. Now the Spinach. Then noodles. Now a layer of spinach filling. Noodles. Tomato sauce and cheese. Noodles. Filling. Noodles. On top should be Bechamel and some extra cheese. Maybe even a grating of Parmesan.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, covered with tin foil, and then another 25 with the foil off. (this is what the recipe says, but we find it takes twice that time. Also I baked mine for 20 minutes with foil - to cook the eggs then let it come to room temp and froze it for a couple of days. We let it sit out for a day before we reheated it, leaving the tin off to brown the top)

Good times. Great Lasagna.

I should go into advertising.

Black Bean Enchiladas for Christmas Dinner

Christmas afternoon Bryan's parents and siblings came down to the house. I planned to do something easy. Ha! Perhaps I should have tried making something I had made before, but no, I only believe in experimenting on guests, especially if they're family.

I actually made the black bean chili that was to be the filling for the enchiladas the day before. I adapted the recipe from the one in Greens (leaving out the parts where I roast chilies to make my own chili powder). Once completed on Christmas Eve morning, I let it sit in the pot all day and night, since there was no meat in it, it was just fine. Here's the recipe:

Black Bean Chili

2 cups black beans soaked overnight (this is a really important step, I've screwed up this dish a couple of times before because I didn't soak the beans overnight)
1 bay leaf
4 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp dried oregano
4 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne
2 Tbsp red pepper (chili) flakes
3 Tbsp veg oil
3 medium yellow onions diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
salt
1 large can diced tomatoes, with juice

Sort beans from stones, rinse well, cover and let soak overnight. Next day, drain, cover with fresh water by an inch and bring to a boil with the bay leaf. Lower heat and let beans simmer while you prepare the rest.

Heat the oil in a skillet, and saute onions over medium heat until they are soft. Add garlic, herbs and spices and cook 5 min. Add tomatoes and juice. Simmer everything for 15 min, then add mixture to the beans and, if necessary, enough water so the beans are covered by 1 inch. Continue to cook the beans for an hour or so, keeping an eye on the water level.

When the beans are cooked taste and add salt and cilantro. Eat, use or let sit.


So once I had this chili, It was going to be easy to make black bean enchiladas, just add tortillas and cheese right? Wrong. I decided I'd be tricky and make up my own sauce for the enchiladas because I'm generally not a huge fan of enchilada sauce. Here's my secret recipe:

Ashley's Secret Enchilada Sauce

3 bell peppers (orange and yellow) roughly chopped
2 leeks, washed and chopped
4 tbsp butter
1 cup white wine
2 Tbsp sugar

Melt the butter in a skillet. Add bell pepper and leeks and saute for 5 min until they soften. Add wine and sugar and let cook down for 10 min until they turn a little syrup-y. Scrape into Food Processor or blender. Process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper as necessary.

That's it. Then to make the enchiladas (which in truth didn't really hold together that well because I didn't steam the tortillas first) cover the bottom of a baking pan with some sauce. Dredge a corn tortilla in the sauce. Place some chili and cheese (Monterrey jack worked nicely) in the tortilla and roll so that seam is at the bottom. Continue until pan is full. Cover with sauce and more cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30 min or until the cheese is melty.

Serve hot!

Jan 2: The Inauguration of the Bar-B-Q and other News on the Food Front

I can think of no better way to spend an evening in January than barbecuing, if just for the fact that we live in a place where barbecuing in January is no big deal. Take that places that snow.

Go Baby Go!

Anyway, Greg gave us a fab new barbecue for Christmas (he had witnessed first hand the sad state our previous barbecue had fallen into - in our defense we did find the thing on the side of the house when we moved in and I spent a long day trying in vein to clean it up) and we thought it was high time we broke it in. After all the carbs and cheese that made up Christmas Eve, Christmas and Christmas Post, we were in need of some good ol' fashioned grilled fish. A trip to the downtown seafood market found us picking up some great halibut steaks and scallops for tomorrow (I just discovered I like them thanks to Xinyu).

By the way, the downtown seafood market is way better than Santa Monica Seafood, if just because it brings out a much wider cross section of clientele. Instead of being filled with bourgie Westsiders, this is filled with the real folk who work in the warehouses, live on the streets or are in business suits from working in the high rises downtown. Infinitely better and much more our speed. But I digress.

So now we have a working barbecue and until it starts raining again, we'll be using it regularly. But on to the aforementioned recipes from Christmas. I'll start in chronological order as best I can over the next few days.

Christmas Eve Dinner Menu
Pamplemousse Cocktail (Gourmet Magazine)
Roasted Asparagus (me)
Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese (Well Fed blog)
Leek and Mustard Pie (Greens)
Tilapia with Balsamic Butter Sauce (Gourmet Magazine, I think)


Pamplemousse Cocktail
(makes 6)
7 tablespoons water
5 tablespoons pomegranate juice
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons honey
1 1/2 cups vodka
3/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
18 fresh mint leaves

Bring first 4 ingredients to boil in small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. *can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated

Combine pom mixture, vodka, grapefruit & lime juice and mint leaves in a large pitcher. Fill with ice. Stir. Strain drink into Martini glasses. Serve!


Roasted Asparagus
I tossed asparagus with olive oil and garlic salt, placed in a roasting pan and set in an oven set to 450. We tossed the asparagus several times during the 15-20 min they cooked. It was served on lettuce and halved pear tomatoes tossed in champagne vinaigrette. Easy.

Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese
This recipe is on Grant's blog called Well Fed. You should read this blog for really tasty things. I've liked everything I've cooked from it. CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE RECIPE.

Leek and Mustard Pie
Here's the thing about this recipe. It calls for tart dough, the recipe for which includes Crisco. We didn't have any Crisco and besides it full of trans fat which is, as we all know, as evil as eggs and meat once were but now maybe aren't. At any rate, I searched google for butter pie crust and made up a recipe. I can't even tell you because I also screwed it up but suffice it to say it involved butter, flour, salt, sugar and some ice water. The filling's the thing:

5 cups leeks (1 lb, trimmed) cut into 1/4 inch rings
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup white wine
salt
pepper
2 eggs
1 cup creme fraiche
3 Tbsp coarse ground mustard
6 oz Gruyere Cheese
(here the recipe calls for Chives, which I didn't until now notice, but I actually added some Rabini - only because I found it at the farmer's market and was excited because I'd once spent an entire morning trying to track it down for a recipe - I blanched, chopped and added it too)

Get your dough ready.
Wash the leeks well (cut in half to split and get all the hiding dirt out). Melt the butter, add the leeks and cook 2 min, stirring.
Add wine and salt, cover, reduce heat and cook slowly until tender. 15 min. Check halfway thru and add more wine if necessary. Season with pepper.
Beat the eggs and stir in creme fraiche, mustard, leeks and grated cheese (and maybe those greens)
Preheat oven to 375F. Pour custard into shell, smooth top and add the illusive chives.
Bake pie until top is firm and golden brown. (this takes about 45min - 1 hr or about the time it took me to take a quick shower and dry, but poorly style, my hair - hence the ponytail).
Let sit 5 min. Serve. Eat. Go back for seconds.


Tilapia with Balsamic Butter Sauce
I didn't really follow the recipe very closely here so I'll improvise this. Basically I took about 1/4 cup of balsamic and red wine vinegar (I ran out of balsamic, hence the addition of the red wine vinegar) and reduced them with a little bit of butter for about 5 min. Once the vinegar was thick and syrup-y I whisked in about 1/2 stick of butter. This was the sauce drizzled on the fish and in the container beside them.

For the fish I washed, dried, salted and peppered the fillets, heated a bit of olive oil and pan fried them for about 3 min each side. Then I served them with the sauce on a warmed platter.

See how hard that was?

THE END.
OF RECIPES.
FOR TODAY.

Check back tomorrow for Christmas breakfast - or as I like to call it BreakFEAST!

Asparagus Lasagna

Yesterday I made my famous (in our house) asparagus lasagna. It's famous because Bryan swore he hated asparagus until he tried this. Now it's one of his favorite meals. It's also a really easy recipe.

Asparagus Lasagna

The Finished Meal

Ingredients

Lasagna Noodles (handmade or store bought)
3 1/2 cups non fat milk
1/3 cup flour
5 Tbsp Pesto (2 Tbsp pine nuts, 1/2 cup olive oil, 3 Cups basil leaves - processed - add 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese)
3 cups part skim Mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 lbs asparagus - stems cut into 1/4 pieces, tops reserved
10 roma tomatoes - quartered and roasted for 20 min at 450

First, roast the tomatoes.

Roasted Tomatoes

The original recipe didn't call for tomatoes but I think they are good to add so that the dish has a little kick to it.

Whisking the White Sauce

Next make a white sauce by mixing the flour with 1/2 cup of milk over med heat until it dissolves. Slowly add the remaining milk and some salt. Whisk while bringing it to a boil to thicken. Remove from heat.

The Traditional Pesto

Take the pesto and add it to the white sauce to create a lovely light green sauce.

Whisking The Green Sauce

This will form the basic glue for the lasagna. Now saute the asparagus stems in some olive oil until tender, about 3 minutes. And add some garlic and salt to this.

Asparagus for us!

Now assemble! Oil your lasagna pan and add a layer of noodles. Follow this with 1/2 the asparagus, cover with green sauce and cheese. Repeat. To top it off place a layer of noodles, a layer of green sauce, asparagus tips, tomatoes and the final cup of cheese. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. Let stand 10 - 20 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Zucchini Frittata

Last night I made this quick frittata for the two of us as we were in day-off mode and not interested in doing anything more complicated than sitting either in the sun or on the couch and reading. It's adapted from the Greens cookbook and it's supposed to have a green sauce but the last time I went shopping I forgot those ingredients. Instead I made some fresh salsa to go along with it. For the salsa, in my mini prep I combined 2 tomatoes, 1/2 small red onion, cilantro, a bit of garlic salt, and some S&P. Here's the recipe for the frittata:

Zucchini Frittata

INGREDIENTS
6 eggs
2 oz provolone
2 Tbsp Parmesan
4 med size zucchini, sliced and halved
4 scallions, white with a little green, finely chopped
Olive Oil
Butter
S&P

Saute the zucchini and scallions in a couple tablespoons olive oil until the zucchini browns.
Beat the eggs and stir in cheese and zucchini mixture.
Heat butter in a skillet on high and pour in mixture when the butter foams. Immediately reduce the heat to med-low and cover. When the frittata is set but runny on the top in the middle, slide onto a plate and flip back into the skillet to finish cooking. Serve with salsa.

It's extremely easy and Bryan-approved. (He really liked how few dishes were involved).

Eggplant Gratin with Saffron Custard

But let's be serious and call it what it really is: fancy Eggplant Parmesan. I made this last night and it was a HUGE hit with Bryan. Not surprisingly it's out of the Greens cookbook. Normally I shy away from anything with saffron, not because the spice itself is so expensive, but because the flavor can be a bit much for me. But this time it blended really nicely with everything else. I made a simple cucumber-tomato salad to go with it that was also a hit. Here's the eggplant recipe.

Eggplant Gratin with Saffron Custard

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs eggplant
light olive oil for frying
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 tsp Herbs de Provence
2 1/2 lbs ripe tomatoes, peeled seeded and chopped OR 1 large can diced tomatoes
Salt & Pepper
Sugar, if necessary
2 eggs
1 cup ricotta
3/4 cup milk or cream
1/8 tsp saffron threads soaked in 3 Tbsp hot water
1/2 cup Parmesan
10 basil leaves, torn
3 oz Gruyere cheese, thinly sliced

Slice the eggplant in 1/2 and then slice into 1/2 inch thick semi-circles. Fry until both sides are colored and remove to a paper towel to drain.

To make the sauce slowly cook the onion, garlic and herbs in the oil for 10 minutes until soft. Add the tomatoes and cook until thickened. Taste for S & P and add sugar if needed.

To make the custard, beat the eggs, stir in ricotta, milk/cream, saffron and Parmesan. Season with S & P.

Preheat oven to 350F. Assemble gratin in an attractive baking disk with 2 inch sides. Spread a little tomato sauce in the bottom of the dish; then lay down a layer of overlapping eggplant. Salt and Pepper the eggplant, and scatter 1/2 the basil and cheese on top. Make another layer of eggplant followed with the remaining basil and cheese and cover with remaining tomato sauce. Pour the custard over the top and bake until the custard has gently swelled and browned, about 40 minutes. Let sit before serving.


Divine!

Spinach and Goat Cheese Pie (with some leeks for good measure)

Last night my cousin Alison (Hi Al!) came over for dinner. I've been craving spinach and goat cheese pie, which I haven't made since back in the Venice Beach days, but which was always a big hit with Bryan. As I was gathering ingredients I found some beautiful leeks which, while not technically in the original Greens recipe, could not be passed up. I also forgot to get the milk and cream I needed so I substituted low fat soy milk for the milk and took a second trip to the market for the cream.

Last night it was just the right amount of richness to feel decadent without being to heavy in the heat. I served it with a light salad and berries and ice cream followed for desert. Alison brought the berries and a divine French Rose that she carried back from Nice. Perfect. I told her I'd give her the recipe before she left but of course we forgot, so here it is.

SPINACH AND GOAT CHEESE PIE

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe tart dough (see below)
I bag spinach
2 bunches scallions (if the guy in the produce section looks at you funny when you ask for scallions, say green onions instead)
1 large leek or 2 small leeks
2 Tbsp Butter
1 or 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
pinch of dried marjoram, or more if fresh
at least 1 Tbsp chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
5 oz goat cheese (I like chevre)
1 cup milk (or soy milk)
1 cup cream
Nutmeg to taste

Prepare the tart dough and partially prebake it (again see below)

Trim the roots and most of the greens off the scallions and leek. Wash thoroughly and thinly slice. Melt the butter in a wide skillet and add the scallions, garlic, leek, marjoram and parsley. Cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Beat the eggs and egg yolks with half the cheese until fairly smooth. Add the milk and cream, nutmeg, 1/2 tsp salt and some pepper. Mix.

Preheat the oven to 375. Lay the spinach on the bottom of the partially baked crust and crumble the remaining cheese on top. Add the custard, then bake the pie until it is set and lightly browned, 35 to 45 minutes. Let it rest 10 minutes at least before serving.


As you can see, we hated it.

Now for the Tart Dough. You could technically buy a premade crust but I believe they taste better from scratch, even if they don't look as pretty.

TART DOUGH

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cup white flour
3/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2 1/4 Tbsp crisco
3-4 Tbsp ice water

Combine the flour and salt in a bowl, then add the butter and shortening. I like to use my clean hands to work the fat and flour together until evenly distributed. Add cold water and lightly work it into the flour. Gather the dough into a ball and sprinkle with a few drops of water to gather any remaining dough. Cover with wax paper and form into a disc. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or freeze for later use).

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured working surface with a floured rolling pin until 1/8 inch thick. This is where I always screw it up because mine tends to want to not turn into a pretty circle. I make it as best I can, place it in a pie pan and perform surgery on the chunks that got left behind (this is the - it might not be pretty - part).

To partially prebake the crust, first freeze until the crust is quite firm. Then preheat the oven to 425F. Set the frozen tart directly into the oven and cook until it has a set appearance and is just beginning to change color, about 8-10 minutes. If any air bubbles occur, pop with a knife as it's cooking.

Fill with goodies like spinach and goat cheese and bake away!

Pasta Caprese

This is another recipe that falls in the so-easy category. It's practically a no-cook dish. I made this recipe up last night when we wanted something quick and tasty that would require a minimum of heat from the stove (it was still in the 90s at 7pm). So for this I combined a recipe from epicurious and Williams Sonoma.

PASTA CAPRESE

ingredients

I bag pasta (I used fusilli, but penne or really anything would work as well)
3 Tbsp fresh lemon basil, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp chives, chopped
1/2 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 chopped tomatoes (or in my case 1/2 tomato chopped and a handful of garden cherry tomatoes)
1 clove garlic, diced
1 container fresh mozzarella, chopped
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar


Put the water on to boil and add pasta and salt when boiling.

In the meantime, chop up the ingredients and mix together the herbs, tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, and onions.


Chop up the mozzarella and set aside.


Cook the pasta until just al dente and drain. Rinse with just a little warm water. Add the mozzarella and Parmesan first. All the real Italians say that you should always add the cheese to the pasta first so that it can melt a little to the pasta. Last night I didn't rinse my pasta with cool water, and it stayed so hot that the Moz all clumped together. I think next time the key is to get the pasta to the point where it's warm but not too hot.

Toss with the oil and vinegar and add mixed ingredients. Stir to coat and combine. Serve.



This pasta is just as good the next day cold (maybe even better) as it is warm. It would work well as a cold pasta salad dish for a potluck.

Oh, and the thing about the lemon basil is that I accidentally bought and planted the wrong herb a last week. I meant to buy regular old boring basil but apparently I bought lemon basil. So much for pesto. Anyway, the lemon basil is quite fun and livens up this dish quite a bit. I highly recommend planting some in your garden if you haven't already! I imagine it would be good with chicken if you were into that sort of thing.

Christmas Quinoa (in June)

This is a recipe that I created tonight that ended up looking like the above, which is not too bad considering what I started out to make. But before I get into that, I just want to start by saying that beets are creepy. I have always avoided them and never purchased them. Maybe it's because they look like this.


Once I ordered a beet salad at a restaurant thinking it would be a nice bed of lettuce with a few beets thrown in for good measure...but no. It was a giant tower of beet. No lettuce in sight. Frankly, they give me the willies. When you cook them, they smell bad. When you cut them, they stain everything, including your fingers pink.

So I was at a bit of a loss when my soon-to-be-no-longer organic delivery left me with two large terrifying beets last Thursday. Being brave, I immediately turned to my sources for recipes and managed to find this on epicurious. Risotto, I thought, I can handle that. I didn't want to make another salad, after my first experience, so I decided this Beet and Beet Greens Risotto with Horseradish looked like a fun recipe to try on a night that I was home alone. Except I'm not a big fan of horseradish, unless it's died green and mixed with soy sauce, so I knew from the beginning that I was going to put something else on top. Like mushrooms.

OK so then tonight I go to get the ingredients together only to realize that while the beets are still good, the greens are clearly not. Fine, I'll substitute something else, something that smells good with beets, like basil.


I like basil, and it's green. So, as you'll see in the recipe below I chop up the beets...


and the onion and get all ready to start cooking. And then I realize I don't have any rice for the risotto. What to do? Well, since I'm alone and feeling adventurous (I know there may be a frozen pizza in my future) I decide to substitute quinoa. Because, I happened to have some and I know Bryan's not a big fan so I might as well use it now.

The final result is not at all like what I imagine Beet and Beet Green Risotto with Horseradish to taste like. But it is surprisingly tasty. And the final colors are fun, so I'm calling it Christmas Quinoa in honor of the bright red beets and green basil, though I suppose Beet and Basil Quinoa is an equally fun title. You tell me. Here it is.

INGREDIENTS

1 beet, peeled and diced
1/2 onion, diced
handful of basil torn up
1 cup quinoa
handful of mushrooms, quartered
2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
a bit of feta or equally stinky cheese (gorgonzola would be good)


Prepare veggies. Melt 1 1/2 Tbsp butter in a pot and saute onion and beet until soft, about 5 minutes.


(Ignore the green in that picture, those are green onions that I should have left out)

Then add the quinoa and 2 cups water.


Bring to a boil, cover, turn down heat and let simmer until the water is absorbed and the little quinoa have sprouted.

Meanwhile saute the mushrooms in the remaining butter and set aside.


When the quinoa is ready, stir in the basil. Season with salt and pepper and mix in the Parmesan cheese. Top with feta and mushrooms and serve.

Now I'll be completely honest, this is not for the faint of heart. There is some serious flavor going on and not necessarily in a good way if you don't like beets. If, however, you love beets and are always looking for new ways to die your cutting boards pink, enjoy!


I would probably serve a small quantity of this (a little goes a long way) alongside something bland, like boring chicken, if you're into that sort of thing to begin with. At any rate, it was an experiment, and came out pretty good. I'm not sure if it'll end up in the vault of great recipes, but it's quick and I imagine fairly healthy.

Ginger Shrimp, Sugar Snap Pea, and Corn Stir-Fry (but don't call it that)

Last night I tried out this new recipe. It comes from epicurious, and it's surprisingly flavorful.

The trick with this recipe was in what I called it to Bryan. Bryan doesn't like stir-fry, although after this and on further consideration, it's not stir-fry he doesn't like so much as it is tofu in the wok with soy sauce. In truth, I think in this case stir-fry is a misnomer because even though it's prepared in a wok, it's really more of a saute. Regardless, it was delicious and I highly recommend it as a light summer dinner with some rice.

I came to this recipe because I had some sugar snap peas and corn from the organic delivery I had signed up with (though the next delivery will be my last because I'd rather head to the farmer's market - this was really an experiment in laziness).

At any rate...here it is. I apologize for the lack of pictures, my camera was charging while I was cooking, next time, pictures, I promise.

1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined (I do the peeling and deveining myself because it's cheaper, though grosser)
2 Tbsp oil (canola, veg or peanut)
3 Tbsp minced, peeled fresh ginger
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried crushed red pepper
1/2 pound sugar snap peas, strings removed
1 cup fresh corn kernels (cut from 2 ears)
1/2 cup diced red pepper
3 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal
2 tsp sesame seeds

Mix shrimp, 1 tbsp oil, 1 1/2 tsp ginger, half of garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, and crushed red pepper in a medium bowl. Let stand in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Heat wok over high heat. Add shrimp mixture; saute until shrimp are just opaque in center, about 2 minutes. Transfer shrimp to bowl. Add 1 tbsp oil to wok, then add sugar snap peas, corn, bell pepper, green onions, 1 1/2 tsp ginger and remaining garlic. Stir-fry until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Return shrimp and any accumulated juices from bowl to wok; stir-fry 1 minute longer. Season w/salt and pepper. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.


See how easy that is? So super easy, and quick. I fixed some broccoli alongside, but we really didn't need it. This one is definitely going in the recipe bank for us. Bryan loved it so long as I don't call it stir-fry!