Roasted Beets

There are few foods I don’t like, but beets top that short list. I’ve overcome my childhood aversion to many foods (cottage cheese, asparagus, spinach and pears, to name a few) but I'm pretty sure I just wasn't meant to eat beets.

The funn thing though is that I had this great dish at a tapas restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina and it had some golden beets in it. I kind of liked them. Then this week, I saw some really fresh-looking golden beets at the store this week and I figured it was a sign.  After all, I'm always telling the kids to try "just one bite, in case you like it now."  Maybe it was time to let that rule apply to me.  Maybe I had finally swung over to the beet-lovers camp.

They were game, so we tossed the beets in the cart and finished up shopping.  However, once I got home and eyed those globes on the counter, I realized two things: I really didn’t know what to do with them, and I really didn’t feel up to spending a bunch of time looking up beets in my cookbooks and figuring out how to cook them. I was in trouble – so I called my mother.

My mother loves beets. Nobody else in my family did, so I think she was a little puzzled when I asked, “What’s the best way to prepare beets?”  Thankfully, Mom was on the ball “roasted is best, with some olive oil and salt and pepper, in a hot oven.”

“How long?”

“Oh, 20, 25 minutes, depending on how big you cut the pieces. And peel them first.” (good tip!)

“Can you eat the tops?”

“Well, you can….”

Enough said. The tops went to the hens and the roots went into a 400* oven.

About 20 minutes later, they were juicy, getting golden around the edges and smelling pretty good. 

So, did I like them?  Not really.  I ate them but they weren't my favorite.  The surprising thing to me though was that both my son and daughter loved them, ate seconds and raved about how sweet they were. 

Guess I'll be making these again.

Getting Away

Where do you find inspiration?  We all get stuck once in a while, and when there's a lot going on it's hard to come up with something new - we fall back on the familiar and the well-known (or at least I do!) and there's been a lot going on lately.  Work is busy and the kids are doing their school, friends, activities thing and I've been feeling stretched pretty thin.  It's shown here, without enough time to put the photos up and write about what we've been doing. 

Honestly, we've been lucky to actually be doing anything some nights - and some nights we just haven't.  So, a long weekend was a welcome opportunity to put away the computer, pack way too many books and hit the beach for two days.

It was nothing fancy (or warm, for that matter!) but it was a break.  A break from the ordinary, an excuse to heat some frozen spaghetti sauce, eat cereal and sandwiches, and a chance to enjoy someone else's cooking a couple of times.

Just before hitting the road home, we stopped in front of a little cinder-block hut, El's diner, pulled into whatever random space was open in the lot and turned off the engine.  The waitress came out immediately, took our order and about 5 minutes later, she brought back the oyster sandwiches. 

I have never had a better oyster sandwich.  Never.  Crispy, hot outside, creamy sea-salt insides, a little tangy cole and a soft, white bun.  Perfect. 

The sweet-tea wasn't too sweet and sitting in the car watching the windshield get covered with raindrops I couldn't have been happier with a gourmet dinner at that moment.

Apple Pockets

If you've ever had a chausson aux pommes, an apple turnover, an apple-pocket or any other crusty, flaky, hand-held apple-filled pastry, you know how wonderful it is when you bite through the crispy outside and hit that thick, sweet apple filling.  Hungry?  We made some quick and simple pastries this week. 

This all began with four apples that had been in the crisper a little too long.  We peeled them, cut off the bad spots, chopped them roughly into 1/2 inch cubes and put them in a sauce pan with 2 TB of butter, 2 TB sugar and a dash of cinnamon and a little cardamom.  While they cooked, we got some eggs ready and rolled out the puff pastry that had been sitting on the counter for a while, warming up to room temperature.

When the apples started to get a little soft around the edges and juicy, I sprinkled about 1 TB corn starch over the pan, stirred and cooked it for a moment longer to let the juices come together to a filling-like consistency then took it off the heat to cool a bit.

We rolled the dough out to about 14 x 16 inches and cut it into 8 long rectangles (cut once down the middle, along the longest dimension, then cut each half into 4 slices).

Using one lightly beaten egg, my daughter painted a frame around each rectangle and I put a heaping spoonful of apples in the middle (a little shy of 1/4 cup).

My son folded the pockets over and crimped the edges with a fork.  Then she painted the top of each pocket with more egg wash and he sprinkled sugar on the tops.

Into the oven (375*) for about 16 minutes and they came out looking lovely...

I'd be embarassed to tell you how quickly these disappeared.  Let's just say I don't have a lot of tips about storage for these treats!

Apple Pockets (makes 8)

Let one sheet of frozen puff pastry come to room temperature (10-30 minutes, depending on location)

Set the oven to 375*

Peel and cut 4 apples into 1/2-inch pieces

In a saucepan, combine:

apples

2 TB butter

2 TB sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

Cook over medium-low heat until the apples are soft around the edges and release their juice, about 10 minutes.  Sprinkle 1 TB cornstarch over the pan and stir.  The sauce should become thick.  Remove from heat and cool.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until you have a sheet about 14x16 inches.  Cut into 8 long rectangles.

Assemble as described above.

Bake on a parchment-lined cooking sheet (jelly-roll pan with edges is best) until golden brown on top, about 15 minutes.

Lemon-Herb Spaghetti with Scallops

We needed some simple dinners this past week, so I pulled a few staples from the crisper and we got chopping.  I wanted to do something that would use the duxelles we made earlier in the week, and scallops were on sale at the store.  Since they don't take long to cook, we went for an easy pasta dish.  The nice thing about pasta is that you can make a double batch and dress it up differently the next night, so lemon-herb-scallops tonight, red sauce with meatballs the next.

First things first, I put my son in charge of the giant pot of pasta.

I put the scallops in a colander between layers of paper towles to get them as dry as possible.  If you put them wet and gloppy in the pan, they tend to overcook by stewing in their own juice.

Next, I put my daughter in charge of chopping (herbs) while I minced (garlic) and squeezed (lemon).

When all that was ready, we heated a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan and let it get hot enough so you could see the ripples in the surface of the oil.  We added the scallops and let them cook quickly.  As soon as they got opaque, about 4 minutes total, I lifted then from the pan and, leaving only a little bit of the juices, quickly sauted the garlic and herbs, about 1 minute.  Then we added about 1/2 cup of the duxelles and let them warm up.

I added about 2 cups of chicken stock and the lemon juice and let the whole pan warm up, then turned it off.

Meanwhile, some frozen peas went into the microwave.

When the peas and pasta were both ready, they went into the saucepan with the scallops and we brought it to a boil, then served it up.

You could make this recipe without the scallops or with another protein in its place, but the scallops reminded of the linguini with clam sauce my grandparents used to make.  

Snow Days and Oatmeal

Snow days.  If you grew up in the midwest, or anywhere with snow for that matter, those two words have the power to evoke a smile, don't they?  Frosty days, piles of snow, tons of wet clothing, frozen extremities and the bliss of unexpected freedom, no matter the chilly cost.

Ahhhh.

That's how my kids were feeling this week, with an early dismissal and two snow days.  I, on the other hand, was frazzled.

It's different here, where a skim of snow is the norm and the "wintery mix" that accompanies it results in slippery roads, cancelled school but work goes on.

I came home the first afternoon to two very happy children enjoying a snack.

"It's my famous oatmeal!"  my son proudly declared.

"Let me guess - there's pepper in it!?"

"Yup.  And apples and bananas.  No raisins becuase she doesn't like them and crasins are optional.  Except you ran out."

"Is it good?"  I asked my daughter, who never hesitates to provide an honest opinion.

"Yes."

My son chattered on, "They said they're going to cancel school tomorrow too!  Can I make lunch?"

Well, well.  How could I say no?

I came home the next day, just after lunch and looked in the kitchen sink. Orange and purple swirls were floating in the bowls, it didn't look like food, exactly. I wish I'd taken a picture. Instead, my sanitary-self went into immediate hyper-drive and I started doing dishes.


"What exactly did you make for lunch?"

"Macaroni and cheese with tomatoes and jelly." No big deal, mom.

"It was good," my daughter volunteered.  "Want to try my hot chocolate?" She walked into the kitchen and offered me a spoonful from her santa mug. I sipped. It was chocolate, with something else...

"Hum. What did you put in there? Pepper?"

"Yes. And the juice from two cherry tomatoes."

Right. That was the something else.

Whoever said education stops when they cancel school?

Snow days. Gotta love 'em.

Kiddo's Famous Oatmeal
(serves two)

Prepare two packets of instant oatmeal according to the directions.
Peel and chop one apple.
Slice one banana.
Add half of each fruit to each bowl.
Rasins and dried cranberries are optional.
Add ground pepper to taste.
Enjoy!

Duxelles

Duxelles - they're all the rage right now (apparently!).  They've turned up in two of the cooking magazines I get and I was reading about them in two different cookbooks recently.  So, what are they?

Lots and lots of mushrooms.

Duxelles is a prepared mushroom dish that you can use as a flavoring, topping or taste-booster in other dishes.  Like salt, stock, anchovy paste or other enhancers, it's an addition that boosts other flavors - and something we've never tried before.

So, into the food processor went all the mushrooms...

And out came this giant quantity of spongy, chopped mushrooms.  We cooked them with olive oil, some onion, garlic and leeks until all the liquid was evaporated - that took some time!

Then we used them in a salmon dish and a potato gratin.

Comparing the two we had a clear winner.  Including the duxelles with the potato dish gave the potatos deeper flavor.  With the salmon, they were a good note, but a little lost in the saucy fish-flavored broth that collected while the dish cooked.

Lucky for us, the recipe made a significant quantity of duxelles, so we've got two freezer bags we'll be using for upcoming recipes to see how we can use this treat best.

If you want to make some of your own, here's a recipe:

Duxelles

Process 1 lb of white mushrooms in the food processor until finely chopped.  Only put about 6 mushrooms in the food processor at a time, working in batches, pulse about 15 times until the mushrooms are chopped, but not pureed. 

Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a pan and add:

1/4 cup chopped onion and 1 clove minced garlic, a dash of salt and pepper.

Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid has evaporated.  About 25 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup minced parsley.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

The recipe can be multiplied to produce extra for freezing.

We used about 1/2 cup duxelles in the gratin.

French Fridays

I had a chance to look through Dorie Greenspan's new cookbook Around my French Table and placed an order at our local bookstore, Flyleaf Books.  It must be a pretty good one because we have to wait until later this month for the new print-run to reach us!

We'll be trying her French Fridays with Dorie and let you know how it goes.  We're looking forward to something new for the new year!

Improv: Fried Rice (Cous-Cous)

That first week back from vacation is a killer, isn't it?  We were lucky enough to be out of school and out of the office for over a week this year and I've realized that's just long enough to get really used to a new pace, schedule and way of doing things.  And if you've been away, it's also long enough to leave you with an empty cupboard and fridge.  When we were faced with a quick-dinner night mid-week, we had to be pretty creative.

We had: ground turkey, celery & carrots.  The cupboard had a lonely mix of israeli cous-cous and pilaf (the package says it only needs to cook for 10 minutes, but from past experience, we knew that was shy by about half). 

The hens, who have been slacking off during all this cold, dark weather (as is their nature) did manage to provide a couple of eggs.  So, inspired by a stir-fried-rice recipe I'd read earlier in the week, we decided to try a cous-cous stir fry.  At the outset, I thought "this could work...or it could be a total glop-flop and we'll order a pizza."

I'd say we were mostly successful.  While the pasta mix cooked up, we sauted the ground turkey (about 3/4 lb.), took it out of the pan and sauted the carrots and celery (chopped into bits) with some garlic.  When those pieces were getting a little tender, about 8 minutes later, the pasta was done.  So we drained that and added it to the pan, along with the cooked, ground turkey, and stirred a while longer until things were dried out.

The next part was fun.  We made a hole in the middle of the glop and cracked two large eggs into the pan.  Stirred around slowly, they scrambled in the pan, cooking all those little eggy bits between the pasta and veggies.  It looked like stir-fried rice!  One of my cardinal faults in the kitchen is impatience.  This time, I managed to wait, and wait.  It didn't take long, but giving the mix some time to brown and crust on the bottom of the pan was really important.  It gave some great texture to the dish and helped the egg have enough time to cook thoroughly.

A couple of dashes of soy sauce and ponzu sauce and we were ready to eat.

Since we were playing around with this one, I don't have an accurate recipe (yet!) but the general formula is below.

1. cook rice or noodles,
2. saute meat until cooked through; remove from pan (drain fat if necessary, depending on type of meat used),
3. saute vegetables until tender,
4. drain starch and saute until extra liquid has evaporated; add meat to the pan and stir,
5. make a well in the center of the pan, make sure your heat is high and add one or two eggs (depending on quantity in the pan; you'll want enough egg to spread throughout the dish),
6. stir slowly, allowing the egg to scramble in small pieces throughout,  once the egg is mostly cooked, let the dish sit over high heat long enough to form a crust on the bottom,
7. season with salt, pepper, soy sauce or other flavors, depending on the nature of the ingredients.  If you're going for an asian-inspired mix, soy sauce, ponzu, mirin and spicy pepper oil are all good additions.
8. serve and enjoy.

Braised Fennel

If you haven't made fennel before, it's a great side dish and easy to prepare.  Braised fennel can have a sweet, slightly licorice flavor so it goes well with meats, fish and even asian-style dishes.  It's also one of those veggies that can look pretty intimidating unless you know what to do with it, so here's our step-by-step.

First, if it came with the tall, feathery stalks, you can chop those off.

Then you'll want to slice the bulb right down the middle so you can get the tough core out.  It's a little like an onion, you can put the tip of your knife at the top of the triangular core (see it on the right side?) and slice in and down to remove it.

Then, take the remaining bulb half and slice it top to bottom in 1/4 or 1/2 inch slices.  When you cook it, it will get soft and easy to cut, so you don't need to make the pices small, although you can if you prefer.

Prepare the fennel and described above then peel and roughly chop three or four cloves of garlic.  Measure out 1 cup of chicken broth or vegetable broth and set it next to the stove.  Heat about 3 TB of olive oil over medium heat in a large pan with a lid. 

When the oil is hot, put the fennel and garlic in the pan for about 1 minute, stirring constantly until you can smell the garlic.  Add the chicken broth to the pan and cover.  Turn the heat to medium-low and let the fennel braise for about 20 minutes, until it's soft and easily pierced with a fork.

Serve warm.

Welcome to 2011!

Hard to believe, but yes, here we are in 2011.  When I say two-thousand-eleven it sounds very....futuristic.  And yet we're just recovering from another year's worth of holiday visits, parties and fun, housekeeping, exercise, resolutions and not-enough-sleep.

I had a quick reminder this weekend that in spite of the normalcy, time does indeed slip by.  We recovered from our holiday travels and parties (more about that later!) and on Sunday, after a morning outing, I passed the most recent issue of Cooking Light to my daughter in the back seat and let her choose a menu for dinner.  She spent about 10 minutes flipping through the pages and selected "a side dish - carrots- and a dinner."  We made glazed carrots and a linguini with soft-boiled eggs, breadcrumbs and walnuts. 

I asked her why she chose those particular dishes and she said "because I like carrots.  And this one," pointing at the pasta with a halved egg, yolks shining brightly, "because it seemed like something we would want to eat on this kind of day."  It was chilly, grey, overcast and I have to agree that a sunny egg in a pasta nest did seem...well, cozy.

We pulled into the grocery store parking lot.  She read me the ingredient list while I made the shopping list.  My daughter is not an avid "fake...I mean fiction" reader, but she handles a recipe pretty well.  We shopped, we went home, we played and eventually, we cooked.

This is when it felt like a new year to me.

She took the carrots on herself, peeling and chopping before I was done pulling other ingredients from the cupboard.  She stirred the saute pan, counting the minutes, and added spices and other ingredients without hesitation.  She peeled the soft-boiled eggs and nesteled them in the plates.  Her brother manned the pasta pot.

My son remarked on my daughter's cooking later, while we were eating "she's already way ahead of me."  And she is. 

It feels good to know that they're learning something useful, something of substance, when we make dinner.

I hope 2011 holds the promise of some more meals and adventures together.  For you too.