Caramelized Cabbage Rolls

We've absolutely loved our new CSA.  We've gotten really nice produce this year.  Two weeks running I got what I assumed to be a few collard green leaves.  I confess I've never seen them in their fresh form so off to the internet I went.  I'd had the caramelized cabbage rolls from Heartland on the make now list for a couple of weeks.  Wonder if I could substitute collard greens for cabbage?  What's the worst that could happen?  You got it.  I substituted.  And, yes, it worked.  Not perfectly, but it worked. 


Now, the filling for these called for cooking the rice in milk.  I'm not a milk fan.  Buttermilk?  Maybe.  Drink a glass of milk?  Not on your life.  Needless to say, I was a bit leery of the whole idea.  But, I figured I like custards and puddings and rice pudding.  Couldn't be all that different.  End result?  I don't think I'll ever again make cabbage rolls without cooking the rice in milk.  Explaining the difference is difficult but the best I can do is say the rice was creamier. 


The filling was half pork and half ground beef.  That's different from Mom's recipe too.  And, I loved it.  So did Connie.  I was worried about overcooking the collard green leaves so didn't leave them in the full 20 minutes the recipe specified.  My bad.  They were a bit chewy.  Now, the other big difference?  The sauce.  It called for Rosy Rhubarb sauce or Lingonberry sauce.  And, beef broth.  Very different from the tomato sauce I grew up on.  This was wonderful.  A little sweet.  A lot of flavor.  Other than a bit of fussing the last 15 minutes of cooking time, this is a tremendous recipe for fixing ahead and not having to mess with. 

Caramelized Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients:

1 medium head green cabbage
3/4 c plus 1/3 c milk
1/4 c Arborio rice
4 oz ground beef
4 oz ground pork
1 large egg, beaten
1 medium onion, minced
1/3 c milk
2 T rosy rhubarb syrup or bottled lingonberry syrup
3 T unsalted butter, melted
3/4 c beef broth

Directions:

Core the cabbage.  Put the cabbage into a pot of boiling water.  Turn the heat down and simmer the cabbage for 20 minutes, until it's very soft.  While that's cooking, pour the milk into a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil.  Add the rice, lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer it for 20 minutes. 

Remove the cabbage from the pan and drain it in a colander.  Allow it to cool while you prep the stuffing.  To make the stuffing, mix the ground beef and pork

with the cooked rice, egg 1/3 c milk and onion.  Now, prepare the cabbage for stuffing.  Separate and dry the leaves.  Cut away any of the thick stem to make rolling them easier.  Heat your oven to 425.  Lay a leaf out on a cutting board and put 1/2 T of filling on it.  the amount of filling will depend on the size of the leaf.  Roll the leaf up and put it in a greased 9x13 baking dish, seam-side down. 

Drizzle the rolls with the rosy rhubarb or lingonberry syrup and the melted butter.  Bake for 20 minutes, then pour the beef broth over the rolls.  Cook for another 15-20 minutes.  Baste every 5 minutes with the broth mixture.  The rolls will be browned and caramelized.  

adapted from Heartland

Fried Chicken and Cauliflower Truffle Soup

Connie, what would you like for dinner this week?  For almost the last year his response has been consistent, "That fantastic fried chicken."  He's referring to Thomas Keller's lemon brined fried chicken that I made last September.  I figured a holiday weekend was the perfect time to make it again. 

Once again, I can say that's the best fried chicken I've ever had.  Moist, tender, flavorful.  Connie ate two thighs, Tom (his brother) ate three and I ate most of a breast.  The only thing I'll do differently next time is to buy a bigger cast iron skillet.  Mine comfortably holds three pieces.  I fried chicken for two hours and felt like I'd rolled in canola oil.  We wanted leftovers and I wanted to be able to share with my brother and his crew so I pulled out the dutch oven and had it going too.

I thought a nice cole slaw would be perfect with the chicken.  After all we'd had Kate's crackers and the garlic herb brie as appetizers.  AND, we'd had little bowls of decadent cauliflower truffle soup too (more on that in a minute.)  So we didn't need anything heavy. Typically, I make my barbecue slaw.  But, it's mayonnaise based and I wanted something light.  Now, I've been known to make Mrs. Huber's slaw which is vinegar based.  Nope, I wanted to try the version in Best American Recipes 2005-2006.  What a disappointment.  It was totally  blah.  Thank goodness I used a one pound cabbage and didn't waste a big one on the slaw!  The good news is that I still have two terrific slaw recipes in my repetoire. 

Now, what was this about cauliflower truffle soup?  I'd bought a cauliflower on closeout at Jungle Jim's.  It had a couple of brown spots and was getting a couple more.  So, I had to use it up.  I'd seen the recipe in the Tavern on the Green cookbook.  It looked decadent and easy.  It was both.  It was so thick it was more like a sauce than a soup.  I think next time I'll halve the amount of cream and increase the milk.  Otherwise, this was a tremendous starter.  It's way too rich for a whole bowl.  Just a little ramekin was fine.

Cauliflower Truffle Soup

Ingredients:

2- 2 1/4 lbs cauliflower
1 1/2 c cream
1 1/2  c milk
1 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground white pepper
1 T truffle oil

Directions:

Separate the cauliflower into florets.  Leave about an inch of the stem attached.  Steam the cauliflower until it is VERY soft.  Allow the cauliflower to cool a bit then puree it in a food processor with the milk and the cream.  Pour the soup into a saucepan.  Heat it gently with the salt and the pepper.  Serve warm drizzled with a few drops of the truffle oil.  As you can see from the photo, I used black pepper for the contrast...
adapted from Tavern on the Green cookbook

Kate's Crackers

No, not mine.  My friend, Kate from Diethood.  Rosemary and garlic.  It doesn't get much better than that.  I've always wanted to try making my own crackers.  Now, I had a recipe that totally captivated me AND cheese that was going to be perfect with them.  Connie and I bought some garlic herb brie at Whole Foods.  We'd gone there on a hunt for Kimberley Chardonnay vinegar.  It said on their website that that's where I could find it.  Wrong.  But, we did wander the store and tried all the goodies set out for tasting.  Come to think of it, that was pretty much breakfast that Saturday!  

The garlic herb brie was fantastic.  Connie was anxious to dig into it.  I told him no, it was reserved for appetizers when his brother was here.  Can you say really sad face?  I know, I'm such a mean one.  But, he waited patiently.  Saturday evening arrived and it was time for the brie.  And, time to make crackers.

What did we think?  Not a bad job for my first foray.  The flavor was fantastic.  I should've made them a tiny bit thinner.  As it was they had to bake for almost double the time to lose their doughy taste.  The edge ones were the best.  This is a recipe I'm going to master because once the family tastes it, they'll want some at every family party. 

Kate has a bunch of wonderful recipes at Diethood.  I hope you'll take a couple of minutes and head over to her blog:  Diethood

Kate's Rosemary Garlic Crackers

Ingredients:

2 c all purpose flour
1 t baking powder
4 t dried, crushed rosemary
1 t sea salt
1/3 c olive oil
2/3 warm water
garlic powder

Directions:

Spray two baking sheets with non-stick spray and preheat your oven to 400. 

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl. 

Pour the water into a measuring cup.  Add the oil. 

Pour that mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until your dough is smooth.  Divide into two dough balls. 

Using your fingertips, squish the dough into two squares.  You want the dough to be really thin! 

Sprinkle the crackers with garlic powder.  Cut them into 60-72 squares with a pizza cutter.  Bake for 12-14 minutes.  When they're golden. they're done.  Remove the pans from the oven and allow the crackers to cool on the pans for 10 minutes.

La Brea Tar Pit Chicken Wings

Sunday afternoon, I made two old faithfuls for the family party that evening.  Aunt Bebe's Bean Bowl from the I Hate to Cook Book and Casa d'Angelo Salad from Just Peachy. 

I thought I'd take a couple of newbies but niece Samantha was celebrating her birthday and it's her favorite and she requested it... And, I'm a sucker for those kids :-)  I told my brother, John, a couple of weeks ago that I was hungry for three bean salad.  Looks like it got him hungry for it too because that was his request.  John was making teriyaki flank steak and barbecued chicken.  Pat, his mother-in-law was bringing potato salad.  Megan, who's married to my sister-in-law's cousin (I know it's complicated, isn't it!) brought pasta salad.  We really didn't need anything else. 

BUT, (you knew that was coming, didn't you?) who wants to try a new wing recipe and not share?  I bought seven pounds of wings at Sams and made a double recipe.  There were twenty people at the MOPS party.  (MOPS is short for everyone's last name.)  The wings lasted mere minutes.  Even Mom who was inside putting the finishing touches on the strawberry torte wanted another.  Not only were these incredible, but they were easy.  Chop off the tips, chop at the joint, make the sauce, bake.  These will go on the annual client appreciation party menu even though I have a rule about food that leaves detritus.  And, my guess is they'll be at family parties from now on. 

Just as a side note, if you're not familiar with the La Brea Tar Pits, they're well worth seeing.  They're downtown in LA and not the easiest place to find.  But, they're fascinating. Connie and I were there in 2006.  One of the cool things about my career is that everyone is encouraged to bring their spouse/significant other to all the conferences.  Since my cost to do so is at most tax on his airfare, he's been able to go to some pretty cool places with me.  In this case, we also went to San Juan Capistrano and the Getty Museum.  Wandering just a little bit of the Getty took a lot longer than we thought it would so we got to the tar pits after closing.  Here are the photos we took:

La Brea Tar Pit Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

3 lbs chicken wings
1 c soy sauce (use Kikkoman - don't use the cheap stuff)
1/2 c red wine
1/2 c dark brown sugar

Directions:

Chop off the tips of the wings.  Split them at the joint.  Mix the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and heat the sauce until the sugar has dissolved.  Put the chicken wings in a baking dish (darker is better) and pour the sauce over. 

Bake at 400 for 45 minutes.  Turn the wings and bake for another hour.  The sauce will turn into almost a lacquer.  Serve warm.

from Best American Recipes, 2005-2006, originally published in the Gourmet Cookbook by Ruth Reichl from a recipe submitted by Metta Miller

Tigelles

Tigelles.  A fancy name for a ham and cheese breakfast sandwich.  The cookbook says, "Traditionally tigelle are served to grape pickers working in the high mountains between Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany as a fortifying snack."  Yet another really good recipe from The Best American Recipes 2005-2006.  This originally came from Bruce Aidells Complete Book of Pork.

We actually had breakfast on Saturday morning thanks to having company.  My brother-in-law, Tom, is visiting for the weekend.  He's been working in Chicago for the past few months so we've gotten to see him about once a month.  Now, he's taken a job back home in Boston so our visits will be via email and phone mostly :-( 

He got here really late on Thursday so he'd be here for Gallery Walk on Friday.  We had several choices for where to start the walk so narrowed our selection down to the restaurants that were close to the various walk areas.  There's Mass Ave, Fountain Square, the Stutz Building, Herron Art School and several outliers.  We finally decided on Greek food.  The place where you not only get the best Greek food ever but also the best bang for your buck - Santorini's.  The three of us split the Chef's Plate, an appetizer and a dessert and were stuffed.  Yes, you read that right - three of us split an entree for one.  It's just fantastic food.  Taki's Greek Potatoes are the best.  Lemony, cooked just right.  Perfect. 

What did we think of this?  Tom and I gave it a four out of five, Connie a three.  Connie would change out some of the cheese for a cheese with less bite.  I'd love to try it open faced under the broiler with toasted muffins then topped with a poached egg.  I'm not a huge bread eater so having two sides to the muffin was almost overkill for me.  How did I change the recipe?  I used cooking spray and a tablespoon of olive oil as opposed to the 1/4 c of olive oil called for in the recipe. With grilled cheese sandwiches, you're trying to get a lovely crust and all that oil is necessary. With these, you're just trying to get the paste melted...  We'll make these again.  The paste can be made the day before so they're super easy for no time to cook breakfasts.

Tigelle

Ingredients:

1 garlic clove, peeled
8 oz pancetta, diced
1/2 c freshly grated Romano or Parmesan
1/2 T chopped fresh rosemary
4 English muffins (preferably Thomas') fork-split in half
1 T - 4 T olive oil (depending on your preference)


Directions:
Put the pancetta, cheese, rosemary and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. 

Process until it's formed a paste.  Split English muffins in half. 

Put a thick schmear of the paste on half of the halves. 

Top with the other halves.  Cook these as you would a grilled cheese sandwich.

 
adapted from Best American Recipes 2005-2006.  Originally from Bruce Aidells Complete Book of Pork

Weekend Wrap Up

All day on Thursday I was convinced it was Friday.  Normally, my days go so fast that Saturday feels like it should be Thursday...  Friday morning I was ready to go to the Farmers Market - the Saturday Farmers Market.  I guess that's what happens when a long weekend is in the works :-)

Last weekend at the market I bought the first real tomato of the season.  They had little slices out for us to sample so I knew it'd be a decent tomato.  Not great but decent.  Caprese salad was the goal.  My friend, Donna, had a balsamic glaze on a caprese salad at a restaurant in Lafayette.  She tried to make it at home by reducing balsamic vinegar.  All she got was a house that reeked of vinegar.  So, she bought a bottle of the glaze.  I followed suit.  All I can say is it was beautiful!!

My friend Dori stopped by the office with a bag of herbs - mint and dill.  I don't know how she knew my dill had bolted and I needed more but she picked exactly what I needed!  Thanks, Dori :-)  The mint was going to go to Canton Ginger Mojitos but last night I saw a recipe for a mint chimichurri.  Hmmm.  The dill is going to more Egyptian Salad.

Our tomatoes are getting close to being ready.  Patty at the Garden Center ordered some Black Brandywine seeds this year.  I had them years ago and my dog, Sallie, loved to snatch them at their peak.  I'd go out to the garden and see a tomato that'd be perfect the next day.  The next day Sallie would beat me to the garden, snatch the tomato and lie down in the grass to munch away.   We found a Black Brandywine plant from Mother Earth News a few years ago.  That gave us volunteers for a bit but I didn't want to risk relying on volunteers this year.  Ergo, my plea to Patty.  So, that's what I've got - three Black Brandywines, a Sweet 100 cherry and another whose name I can't remember.  The peppers are producing like crazy but thus far only a banana pepper has been ready to pick.  Otherwise, we failed miserably at getting more goodies planted.  All I can hope is that the CSA has some wonderful green beans this year!

We saw a Diners, Drive-ins and Dives episode where a guy made a pesto out of mint and pistachios.  He used it in a salmon burger.  The same episode someone put brie on a burger.  Got us to thinking.  Lamb burger plus brie plus mint pistachio pesto.  Absolutely a five.  The leftovers were just as good.  I used the basil that was left from the CSA plus about a third as much mint, a huge dollop of garlic about half of cup of shelled pistachios and a good pour of olive oil.  Now, I wish I'd measured :-) 

A bag of fantastic potatoes has been in our CSA share recently.  Last week I took all the babies out and tossed them with some chopped shitakes (also from the CSA) and some porcini mushroom salt and a good pour of olive oil.  I remember Daddy making fried potatoes when I was a kid.  We'd go visit him down in Orlando for a couple of weeks during the summer.  He was an awesome cook.  Flank steak with blue cheese, barbecued chicken, chicken with lemon and oh, those wonderful fried potatoes.  He'd cook them low and slow and use bacon fat (oh, I wish I could now!)  These were equally as good.  The shitakes were pretty dried out and they looked like little burnt nubs. But, they exploded with flavor on our tongues. 

I've been part of a networking group that the Chamber of Commerce puts on.  We've taken turns bringing in breakfast.  This week was my turn.  I made quiche fillings the night before and baked them the morning of the meeting.  I also made orange muffins.  If you were reading this way back when you probably remember me gushing over the lemon blueberry muffins.  These orange muffins were a major disappointment.  Very dry.  No flavor.  I wound up making a honey orange butter to go with them.  I was bummed.  But, that's all part of cooking, isn't it?  Not everything will be great.  There'll be those recipes like the spinach lasagna that you just toss the rest into the trash.  And, there'll be those like the Egyptian Salad that are so good you make them again in a few days.

This is the weekend I say a special thank you to a special guy.  His name is John Hart.  He was my 7-great's grandfather.  He was one of the brave men who signed the Declaration of Independence.  I've tried to find more info about him but he's not one of the well known signers.  All I can say is I'm very greatful!

Ok, time to get on with the weekend.  Off to the farmers market then to the office.  Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July!

Bacon Sage Pasta Sauce

Our sage this year is spectacular.  Mom didn't/doesn't care for sage so we never had it growing up.  On occasion, I've gotten sausage that's had a bunch of sage in it and have found it overwhelming.  But, I've found that I really love fried sage.  And, as long as the flavor plays well with the other ingredients, I enjoy fresh sage. 

This recipe came about because I had zucchini to use up AND I looked over at the sage in the herb garden on my way out of the driveway a couple of mornings ago.  Hmm, how could I combine the two.  I brainstormed the whole way to the office.  Got to the office and wrote down the recipe.  I knew it'd be perfect for one of those evenings I didn't get home til 7:30 or 8:00.  And, it was.  I didn't measure as I went so most of the measurements are guesstimates.  But, my guess is this is a very forgiving dish and will taste just fine if you change things up a bit.

Bacon Sage Pasta Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
3 T butter
36 fresh sage leaves
6 slices bacon
2/3 c white wine
4 cloves garlic
1 large zucchini or 2 small
1/2 lb pasta with ridges like campanelle
1/2 c coarsely grated parmesan reggiano

Directions:

Gently heat about 12 sage leaves in the olive oil. 

You just want to infuse the olive oil with sage flavor - not fry these sage leaves.  Dice the bacon and brown it in a large skillet. 

Just as it's starting to get brown, add about two dozen sage leaves. 

These you want to fry til they're really crispy.  It won't take long.  They'll be really crispy about the time the bacon is good and crisp.  Take the leaves out very carefully and drain them on a paper towel. 

Then, do the same to the bacon. 

Start your pasta water.  Put the chopped zucchini into the bacon grease - or if you're well behaved you'll wipe out the bacon grease and put in some olive oil...  Saute the zucchini until it's softened. 

While it's sauteeing, remove the sage leaves from the olive oil.  Discard them.  Turn the heat to medium and add the garlic.  Stir for about a minute until it's very fragrant.  Pour in the white wine. 

Allow the liquid to reduce a bit.  While the liquid is reducing, cook your pasta to al dente.  Add in the butter to the wine sauce.  Now, it's time to combine everything and serve.