Monday, October 26, 2009

pumpkin soup

Lucky me! A friend, who has a fantastic large organic garden, shared her spoils with me earlier this fall when I was home for a visit. She gave me two pie pumpkins, four acorn squash, and a gob of garlic. What to make? I had dreams of moist pumpkin bread and bread pudding and pumpkin cheesecake. I also consider my savory options focusing on curries but then I thought, ah ha!, pumpkin soup. My first pumpkin soup which I had at a 12 course birthday feast, I realized I found the food of the gods. Over the next five years or so I experimented with a few recipes but was always disappointed. This recipe lives up to my memory. Enjoy this soup while you can easily find pumpkins at the market.


Friday, October 16, 2009

THE souffle

When first learning to really cook (beyond spaghetti) I started to hear about the difficulty of the souffle. It's right there in movies, books, and cooking shows and nearly impossible to get right! I'm here to dispel this myth, plus once you learn the technique you will know the basics for other dishes (i.e. béchamel, egg whites). Because of my fear, the first souffle I made (a spinach souffle) I referred heavily to the goddess Julia Child's (she writes the most specific instructions for any preparation) cookbook and I followed her instructions to a 'T'. Since then I am a bit more lackadaisical resulting in souffles that aren't as perfect looking, but still delicious tasting. Once you've mastered your first souffle you can apply the technique to the whole world of souffles ... fish, seafood, cheese, vegetable or desert.

If you have a well stocked kitchen then you won't need much special equipment, just a souffle dish, which are usually available for $6 at cooking stores (or much, much more). If your kitchen is not well stocked, you will also need a wire whisk or mixer, a small glass/ceramic mixing bowl and a wooden spoon. Basically banish all plastic cooking utensils for this dish.

Leek Souffle
4 T. butter
1 T. safflower oil
2 leeks, thinly sliced and well washed (white part only)
1 1/4+ c. milk
3 T. flour
4 eggs, separated
3 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated/crumbled
salt and pepper (traditionally white pepper for appearance but it does have a different flavor)

1. Preheat oven to 400 deg. F. Grease a quart souffle dish with 1 T. of butter (for drama, use a slightly smaller souffle dish with a foil/parchment collar). Heat the safflower oil and 1 T. butter in a small saucepan and cook the leeks over med-low heat for 4-5 minutes until soft but not brown.
2. Add milk and bring to a simmer, cover. Simmer for 4-5 minutes and strain liquid into a measuring cup. Set cooked leeks aside.
3. Make a béchamel: Melt 2 T. butter, stir in flour and cook for 1 minute, don't allow it to color. Remove from the heat. Add enough milk to strained milk for 1 1/4 c. Gradually stir milk into flour mixture to make a smooth sauce. Return to heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly with wooden spoon. When thickened (about 3 minutes) remove from heat.
4. Cool slightly and add leeks and the beaten egg yolks.
5. Beat the egg whites (in the glass/ceramic bowl with wire whisk/beaters with very clean implements, add a dash of cream of tarter, if desired) until stiff and shining peaks form.
6. Using a large wooden spoon fold egg whites into the base, alternating with sprinkles of cheese. Pour into souffle dish and bake for 30-45 minutes until puffed and golden brown*. Serve immediately - to keep it from falling plunge serving fork and spoon into center of souffle (Julia's advice).
* Do not open and close oven repeatedly. Use a skewer or cake tester to confirm it is cooked all the way through (tester should come out slightly moist), most recipes say about 30 minutes but my experience (in multiple kitchens) is closer to 45 minutes, but ultimately it's up to you - wetter is creamier, but won't hold puff as long.

Serves: 4 (although it's best fresh, It's still tasty reheated, but not as pretty)

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

white bean and mustard green soup with ham

My box came with all sorts of delights this week (and perhaps a little more delightful because I've missed the past couple of deliveries due to travel) including mustard greens. A member of the cabbage family, they best sauteed or added to soups and should be used soon after buying. Because of mustard greens ability to extract heavy metals from soil (great removal technique) I suggest only using organic greens. This soup only used a portion of the greens, so I will be eating them in other incarnations too.

The soup is perfect for the coming on of winter with it's thick consistency and warmth. I used ham but turkey can substitute or eliminate the meat if you prefer. My favorite dried bean is the white bean which was a huge inspiration for this soup.

White Bean and Mustard Green Soup with Ham
2 t. olive oil
1 c. onion, diced
1 carrot, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. baked ham, diced
1 t. dried thyme
2 bay leaves
4 c. cooked white beans, rinsed and drained (1 lb. dried beans or 2 cans of pre-cooked beans)
4 c. chicken stock (or preferred)
4 c. chopped fresh mustard greens, washed and dried (leaves only, not stems)
salt + black pepper, to taste
grated parmesan cheese, to garnish/serve

1. Heat oil in large stock pot over medium heat. Add onion and carrot and saute for 3 minutes, until soft. Add ham and garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in thyme and bay leaves, then add beans* and broth. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, partially cover pot, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves.

2. Add mustard greens and simmer until slightly wilted, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and season with salt and black pepper. Serve with grated parmesan. Bon appetite!

*dried beans: during last 30-60 minutes of cooking add salt, pepper, onion, garlic and bay leaves to flavor the beans. Adjust these ingredients in final recipe if necessary (I didn't, though).

Friday, October 9, 2009

snippy doodles

In a seemingly desperate state of needing something sweet I scoured my recipes to see what I could make with my limited ingredients (nearly out of flour and brown sugar) and came across this 'snippy doodle' recipe. It is light and fluffy and would be spectacular with some fresh pressed apple cider!

Snippy Doodle
Cream:
2 T. butter
2/3 c. suar

Sift together:
1 c. cake flour (I used all-purpose)
1/8 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon

Mix:
1/2 c. milk
1 egg, well-beaten

Alternately add dry ingredients and egg mixture to creamed mixture. Spread thinly in a wax paper lined 9"x13" pan. Bake in 350 deg. F oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar (about 1 T.) and continue baking for 10 minutes. Cut in squares. Serve warm or cooled. Yield 18 bars.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

bread with jam

Bread with jam is something I can eat at all hours of the day, which is precisely why I don't keep it on hand. When a friend gifted me a pot of homemade oregon plum jam I knew I had to make some homemade bread or biscuits. I made this basic white bread and continued the spirit of the jam and passed on the mini loafs to friends.

Basic White Bread
2 pkg dry yeast
2 c. warm water
2 T. sugar
2 t. salt
2 1/2 T. butter
5 1/8 - 6 c. flour

Dissolve yeast in water; add sugar, salt, and butter. Mix flour in a little at a time (all may not be needed). Knead 8-10 minutes. Let rise until double; punch and put in 2 loaf pans. Let rise till double (about 30 min.). Bake at 400 deg. F for 20 minutes.

note: 1 loaf = 3 mini loafs

Friday, October 2, 2009

acorn squash

Lucky me! When I was back home a friend shared the spoils of her garden and then I carted them back to the pacific northwest. She gave me a couple of pie pumpkins, four acorn squash, and six heads of garlic. Yummy, yummy, yummy in my tummy, tummy, tummy. I just got back two days ago and I've already baked the first two acorn squashes and eaten the first three halves. I usually eat it on the 'half-shell' with something sweet inside - apple sauce with cinnamon & raisins, cinnamon & sugar, or real maple syrup & butter. These toppings can be so sweat it's like having desert. This half I ate with a couple of scrambled eggs for lunch.

(I've decided to try some more savory versions of squash this fall ... if any are a success I'll share them with you).

Baked Acorn Squash

preheat oven to 400 deg. F

Cut squash in two and remove seeds. Arrange squash, cut side down in a shallow baking dish. Fill dish with water until it reaches about 1/4" (you might want to do this in the oven if your dish is particularly shallow). Bake squash for 15 minutes, or until tender. Turn squash over and fill cavity with apple sauce, raisins, and cinnamon mixture. Bake until warmed through. Serve.

* I usually make several at once and store in the fridge, they make good leftovers reheated in the microwave. For sack lunch, either take 'as is' or scoop out into another container.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

oktoberfest

The weather has turned from the indian summer we were enjoying the northwest to something more typical of this time of year: overcast and rainy. The weather suggests a change in diet and sausages are sounding awfully appetizing (I don't like all sausages, but am developing a taste for them). I also just returned from vacation and needed to pick up something easy at the grocer's as I returned to town that was easy because I was exhausted (lots, lots of driving). I was looking for the chicken apple sausages (yum!) when I didn't find them I decided to try bockwurst because they reminded me of boudin white sausages. Both are white and made with pork. In Belgium boudin (white or black) is served with apple sauce so I also bought a sugar-free jar. The package of Bockwurst says to serve with red cabbage or potatoes (and mustard, of course) and I decided to first serve with potatoes (I had a few fingerlings left from before my travels). My next sausage will be with apple sauce. It's a perfect fall meal.