Cook Daily

Mediterranean Eggplant and Barley Salad

I wanted to make this as soon as I saw the recipe. It's from the September 2006 issue of Gourmet, and can be found on Epicurious. Because we had some Haloumi cheese in the fridge, I grilled some of that to serve with it rather than the suggested ricotta salata.  I also left out the red onions. Sort of inadvertently. I'm not a big fan of them raw and thought about roasting some along with the eggplant and zucchini, but then forgot. This was really good.

Mediterranean Eggplant and Barley Salad

1 1/2 lb eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 lb zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
10 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup chopped scallion (from 1 bunch)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/4 cups pearl barley (8 oz)
1 (14-oz) can reduced-sodium chicken broth (1 3/4 cups)
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 lb cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/3 cup Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and halved
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion, rinsed and drained if desired
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

Accompaniment:  1 (1/2-lb) piece ricotta salata, cut crosswise into thin slices

Method:

Roast eggplant and zucchini:
Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.

Toss eggplant and zucchini with 5 tablespoons oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl, then spread in 2 oiled large shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pans. Roast vegetables in oven, stirring occasionally and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until vegetables are golden brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes total. Combine vegetables in 1 pan and cool, reserving other pan for cooling barley.

Cook barley:
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook scallion, cumin, coriander, and cayenne, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add barley and cook, stirring until well coated with oil, 2 minutes more. Add broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until all of liquid is absorbed and barley is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Transfer to reserved shallow baking pan and spread to quickly cool, uncovered, to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

Make dressing and assemble salad:
Whisk together lemon juice, garlic, sugar, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 3 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Add barley, roasted vegetables, and remaining ingredients to bowl with dressing and toss until combined well. Serve with cheese slices.

Cook's Note:
Salad can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Return to room temperature before serving.

    Makes 4 (main course) or 8 (side dish) servings.

 

Red Beans and Rice

Beans and rice is something I never get tired of. This is from the Whole Foods cookbook. I don't often (i.e. never) use dry beans in a recipe. I always think it's going to be a hassle, but it wasn't one at all.

Red Beans and Rice

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound cooked andouille sausage, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large green pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced (I teaspoon)
1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 bay leaf
8 cups chicken stock or cold water
2 cups tomato juice
1 cup small dried red beans
1/2 cup basmati rice
2 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste


1. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, add the andouille sausage, and saute for 1 minute.

2. Stir in the onion, celery, pepper, and garlic, and saute until the vegetables are tender.

3. Reduce the heat to low, and stir in the dried thyme, basil, oregano, paprika, and bay leaf; cook for 3 minutes, stirring often.

4. Add the stock, tomato juice, and red beans. Bring the chowder to a boil, lower to a simmer, and cook uncovered for about 45 minutes, until the beans are tender but have not lost their shape.

5. Stir in the rice, add fresh thyme sprigs, and continue to simmer for 15 minutes, until the rice is cooked.

6. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook's Notes

1. I used chicken andoille sausage because that's what Gelson's had. Next time, it's all about something four-footed.

Pasta with Butter and Sage

When I was in college I had a variety of jobs waiting tables. There was the family-friendly steakhouse, the Italian restaurant at the mall and a fancier gig at the restaurant of a local winery.  The steakhouse was pretty dreadful, but from Day One I had a flush-inducing crush on one of the waiters, which actually lead to some making out a few months down the road, so that was fun. The winery was terribly fancy, and I had to deal with many annoying things that I truly didn't care about at the time: silver service napkin folding, the correct use of the waiter's cloth and the correct placement of the waiter in the catering establishment.  I wish I was kidding. At least the tips were good. There was nothing good about the Italian restaurant. We worked for a twitchy, persnickety little man fresh off a gig on South African Airways. But judging from he way he acted, you would have thought it was the ferry from Brindisi. He had this ridiculous way of pronouncing the items on the menu. Imagine the over-exaggerated spag-ehttttti-isms of Giada De Laurentiis sans an ounce of her like ability or authenticity. It worked every one of my nerves. Particularly the way he said Penne al Burrrrrro e Salllllviahh. But it turned out to be one of my favorite things on the menu, and I don't think I've eaten it since. But the sight of a perfect bunch of sage at the West Hollywood farmer's market took me right back to Ristorante Italiano (original name, eh?) at the Atrium Mall and I knew that sage's destiny.

I found what I was looking for on foodtv.com. I probably could have figured it out myself, but you know how I love a recipe.

Mario Batali's Butter and Sage Sauce

Pasta of choice (I chose linguine)
4 tablespoons butter
8 sage leaves
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

While pasta cooks, melt butter in a 12-14 inch saute pan and continue cooking until golden brown color appears in the thinnest liquid of the butter. Add sage leaves and remove from heat. Add lemon juice and set aside. Drain the pasta, but leaving some cooking water, and gently pour into saute pan and return to heat. Add the cheese, toss to coat and serve immediately.

Cook's Notes:

1. Because I love a little spice, I sprinkled this with some red pepper flakes to serve. An utter sacrilege to the recipe, I'm sure. But it worked.

2. I didn't remove the pan from the heat right when I added the sage leaves, and they disintegrated a bit more than I would have liked. But the flavor was still what I wanted.

Snickerdoodles

These are one of my favorite cookies. I think the last time I made them was almost 10 years ago, in a pit of an apartment, and an oven so unpredictable that I barely used it to bake a potato, let alone cookies. With all that working against me, those Snickerdoodles were still excellent. So today, with a much better stove and my new best friend in chrome, the KitchenAid, I gave them another try. I think I like how they turned out.

I don't remember what recipe I used all those years ago. At the time, I worked for the company that published Better Homes & Gardens; it was most likely something from one of their holiday cookie editions. I think I had just one or two cookbooks back then.

Today I turned to the Joy of Cooking. Their recipe was least complicated.  But I've never liked the way they mix the ingredients and the method. I'm not going to try and recreate it differently here.

Snickerdoodles

1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven. Preheat to 350F. Grease cookie sheets.

2. Sift together:
    2 cups all purpose flour
    2 teaspoons cream of tartar
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1/4 teaspoon salt

3. Beat on medium speed until very fluffy and well blended:
    2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

4. Add and beat until well combined:
    2 large eggs

5. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture until blended and smooth. Pull off the pieces of dough and roll between your palms to form generous 1/4 inch balls.

6. Roll in a mixture of:
    1/4 cup sugar
    4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

7. Space about 2 inches apart on the sheets. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the cookies are light golden at the edges, 8-11 minutes; rotate the sheet halfway through baking for even browning. Remove the sheet to a rack and let stand until the cookies firm slightly. Transfer to racks to cool. Let the cookie sheets cool between batches or the cookies may spread too much.

Gougeres & Soup

I got the inspiration for these from Hilary's food blog. Deb also made them, and the original recipe came from Food and Wine magazine. Hilary suggested they would be good with soup, and she was right. 

The soup came from The Best Recipe, where I always turn for comfort stuff. Like cream of tomato soup that would be perfect with something cheesy and puffy. But sometimes I think I actually know better than America's Test Kitchen. Reallly, the arrogance. While reading the recipe, I found myself saying things like, "Strain the mixture!  Rinse out the saucepan! Transfer just the solids to a blender! Why, why why? I need streamlined efficiency, not the straining of liquids, the pureeing of solids only, and the cleaning of a saucepan I'm going to need again in 5 minutes. So I did it my way, and pureed the whole lot in the pot with my favorite kitchen tool - the immersion blender. And while the end result was perfectly tomato-ey, and better than something out of a can,  the pre-recipe explanation detailing why they do it the way they do, made me realize they have a point. It's not so much a taste as a texture and color thing. The texture of my soup was lighter and airier than I was going for, and the color wasn't the rich deep red I expected. So don't be a know-it-all. There's a reason ATK has a magazine, more cookbooks than I count, a TV show, a team of scientists and equipment testers, and a man in a red bow tie. All I have is this blog, so if you decide you want to make this, follow the damn recipe.

Cream of Tomato Soup

2 (28) ounce cans whole tomatoes packed in juice, drained, 3 cups juice reserved
1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter
4 large shallots, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
pinch ground allspice
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons brandy or dry sherry
salt and cayenne pepper

1. Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Seed the tomatoes and spread in a single layer on the foil. Sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar. Bake until all the liquid has evaporated and the tomatoes being to color, about 30 minutes. Let the tomatoes cool slightly, then peel them off the foil; transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

2. Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until foaming. Add the shallots, tomato paste and allspice. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are softened, 7-10 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds. Whisking constantly, gradually add the chicken broth, stir in the reserved tomato juice and the roasted tomatoes, Cover, increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, to blend the flavors, about 10 minutes.

3. Strain the mixture into a medium bowl, rinse out the saucepan. Transfer the tomatoes and solids in the strainer to a blender; add one cup of the strained liquid and puree until smooth. Combine the puree mixture and remaining strained liquid in the saucepan. Add the cream, and warm over low heat until hot, about 3 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the brandy and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook's Notes

1. As I was typing step 3, I was thinking, "That doesn't seem so hard. Why didn't I just do it?" Maybe because it is Sunday and I am still in my jammies.

2. For straining and seeding the tomatoes, I followed the recipe sidebar suggestion and did this over a strainer set in a bowl.

2. A note about the tomatoes: I combined two brands, because that's what I had. Both were San Marzanos: one can from Surfas, one from Gelsons. Apparently foodie stores know what they're about. The tomatoes from Surfas were nice and whole and easy to  extract seeds from, the Gelsons tomatoes fell apart while I was handling them, making them hard to seed and almost too small to roast for the same length of time as those that were more intact.

White Bean Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette

This picture is crappy, and it chaps my hide. Because this salad was so good. It's another from my new favorite cookbook, Fresh Every Day.

White Bean Salad with Tarragon Vinaigrette

Salad
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 15 1/2 ounce cans navy or great northern beans, rinsed and drained, or 1 3/4 cups dried beans, cooked until tender
1/2 cup canned artichoke hearts packed in water, chopped
1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, thinly sliced
8 pepperoncini, sliced into thin rounds
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.

2. Toss the onion and olive oil on a baking sheet with sides and roast until the onion is soft and light golden, 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.

3. Place the drained beans in a large bowl. Scrape the onion into the bowl with the beans; add the artichoke hearts, olives, pepperoncini, parsley and 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette and toss. Season with salt and pepper and add more vinaigrette to taste.

Vinaigrette

1/3 cup white wine vinegar
grated zest, and juice of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon, or 2 teaspoons dried
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup olive oil
seal salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Stir the vinegar, lemon zest and juice, garlic, tarragon, parsley, and paprika together in a small bowl. Add the oil in a slow steady stream, whisking constantly until all is incorporated. Season with salt and pepper. Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container up to one week.

Cook's Notes:

1. I actually used cannellini beans. Not intentionally. I thought I was using navy, but the salad was still good, so I think you could substitute any white bean.

2. You'll notice a little cucumber in that picture. I love cucumber and like to eat it with everything. I had some sitting around needing to be chopped and eaten, so I threw that on the side.

Chipotle Squash Soup with Fresh Rosemary and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Soup has been the thing to ease me back into cooking. And even though it's not squash season, I have a thing for butternut soup. In spite of my having about 4 trusted recipes for it in my chaotic binder, I had to try this new one. The pumpkin seeds, the chipotle chilies in adobo, the rosemary. How could I resist? I'll definitely be making this again. It's from Sara Foster's Fresh Every Day, a book you'll be seeing more of over the next few posts.

Chipotle-Squash Soup with Fresh Rosemary and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

1 small winter squash (pumpkin, butternut or acorn - 2 to 2 1/2 pounds), halved and seeds removed
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1  red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 chipotle chilies in adobo, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted and salted, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 400F

2. Place squash, cut side down, on a baking sheet with sides. Add 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan and roast the squash until it is soft to the touch, 40-45 minutes

3. Meanwhile, melt the butter and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil together in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes, until the onion is very soft and light brown. Add carrots and bell pepper and continue to cook until carrots are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes, until it's fragrant but not brown.

4. Add the broth, chipotle chilies, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and bring the soup to a low boil over medium-high heat. While the soup is coming to a boil, scoop out the squash flesh with a large spoon. Discard the skin and add the flesh to the soup. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes.

5. Remove soup from the heat and stir in rosemary. Allow to cool slightly before pureeing. Working in batches if necessary, pour the soup into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and puree until smooth. Or, puree the soup directly in the pot, using an immersion blender. Reheat if necessary, and serve warm, garnished with toasted pumpkin seeds.

Cook's Notes

1. Make extra pumpkin seeds. I've never actually toasted them before, and I followed the recipe sidebar recommendation to toss them in good quality sea salt when done. So good. I could have eaten just a bowl of those for dinner.

2. These are the times I am so thankful for my immersion blender. After a disastrous blender-soup- kitchen floor trio a few years ago, this is my preferred way to puree soup. Right in the pot.

3. This had more of a kick than I expected. Maybe because it was a challenge to get the seeds out of the chipotle chilies. Even though I diligently scraped away, a few stray seeds made it into the soup. I like spicy food so it wasn't a problem, but if you don't, make sure to get all those seeds out.

Apricot Cherry Coconut Bars

I love apricots. I love cherries. And I love coconut. These were just the thing to grease up my new toy. They seemed a bit ambitious, given my 9pm start time, and the fact that I would be making my own jam to get to the end point that you see over there on the left.  But I just couldn't wait to hear the whir of that paddle. The recipe comes from a book I borrowed from the library, Baking from the Heart. I plan to make many of the things I found inside. The KitchenAid has transformed my formerly lackluster approach to the  "creaming" process.

Apricot Cherry Coconut Bars

(Makes one 9 x 13 inch pan or 15 large bars)

Filling
1/2 pound dried apricots
1/2 dried unsweetened dried cherries
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

Crust
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Sweetened whipped cream, optional, for serving

1.  Combine apricots, cherries and 2 cups of water in a heavy 2- to 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until the mixture comes to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is very tender, 40-45 minutes. Strain over a bowl and reserve 1/4 cup juice.

2. Return fruit to the pan. With a potato masher, smash it until it is almost smooth. Stir in the reserved juice and 1 cup plus the 2 tablespoons sugar. Bring the puree to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Then cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cool to room temperature.

3. To make the crust, preheat the oven to 400F. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan with butter or vegetable shortening.

4. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg and whisk to combine.

5. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (yes!), beat the butter on medium speed for 1 minute, or until smooth. Add the sugar and beat on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, or until smooth and fluffy. Reduce speed to low, add the dry ingredients, and mix  just to incorporate.

6. Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the pecans and coconut to make a crumbly mixture. Press half onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned. Remove from the oven, and spread the cooled fruit filling over the hot crust. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the fruit and gently pat the crumbs in place. (Do not pack it down.)

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool completely before cutting into bars.

Cook's Notes

I didn't bake these for quite as long as 20 minutes when I put them back in the oven. It was more like 15. My tops were browning, and I didn't want the underside to burn.

Ta Da!

I have a KitchenAid mixer. At last. It is akin to the excitement I would feel about owning a car right now, except this doesn't require paycheck depleting maintenance, insurance and gas. And I used it last night. I baked! Stay tuned for that post.

Breakfast

I know. This is really sad. I'm posting a picture of fruit and yogurt, but it was quite delicious. And this was taken before I decided to sprinkle pumpkin seeds over the top. This is what my parents eat every morning, every day of their lives. The only difference is that their version includes a variety of ground seeds. Enough of them that I sometimes expect them to start chirping at each other when I go home and stay for a while.  But they both look amazing, so I'm going to start getting into the habit of cutting up fruit and eating it before work. Maybe this will be better than the hastily consumed cup of coffee and piece of toast I rely on to get me through the morning.