Archive | June, 2011

Quiche Me!

28 Jun

WHAT?! I used heavy cream, butter, and cheese all in one dinner dish? Yes, yes I did. I managed to throw in some dark leafy greens and mushrooms to balance out my heart attack give this dish a nice color/texture/flavor/vitamin boost (I also roasted some asparagus to serve as a side).

This savory pie is called a quiche.

You’re house will smell amazing. You are going to have all the neighbors knocking at your door. You are going to (want to) pick at the cheesy top and buttery crust. You are probably going to go back for seconds. You can totally use whatever veggies you want and you can totally add bacon or salami or sausage to this. You can eat this for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and/or a snack. You can bring this to a party. You can make it for yourself.

Pie crust. Cheese. Deep colorful vegetables. A meal for the gods.


Quiche Me! Crust (Pate Brisee)

From SmittenKitchen, originally from Martha Stewart

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cold and cut into small cubes

2-3 tablespoons ice cold water

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds.

With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Form dough into a single ball, flatten it into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator, and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.

Quiche Me! The Filling: Onion, Mushroom, Kale

Makes 1 8-inch tart pan

1 recipe pate brisee (see above)
1 onion, sliced thin
balsamic vinegar, to taste
about 6 white button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped
1 cup heavy cream (or whole milk)
2 eggs
1/4 cup grated Gruyere, Swiss, and/or Jarlsberg cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Roll out your chilled crust as quickly as possible on a lightly-floured surface until is about 2 inches large all around than your pie pan. Either reverse the dough onto the rolling pin and unroll it over the mold or fold it into quarters and lay it over the mold, unfolding it. Press the dough lightly into the bottom of the pan, lifting the edges and working it gently down into the mold. Trim off excess dough and press the edges into the pan. Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork at 1/2-inch intervals.

Bake your crust for about 9 minutes in the oven. Pull it out, sprinkle with a bit of cheese and let it cool while you prepare your filling.

Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F.

Saute your onions in some olive oil and add some salt. Add a dash of balsamic then set your sauteed onions in a bowl. In the same pan you just used, add the mushrooms. Add a tiny pat of butter and saute until starting to get golden brown. Add the kale and stir. Add back the onions.

Mix together your cream and eggs. Add some black pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg. Add your sauteed veggies. Pour into your pan and top with more grated cheese.

Set on a sheet pan and bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, until puffed and golden.

CHECK OUT MY CHEESY VEGGIE PIE, WITH SALAMI, HELD TOGETHER BY EGGS AND A SPLASH OF MILK

A Few New York Secrets + Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream

27 Jun

I have a few (New York) secrets for you:

–Sheep Meadow in Central Park. Like a triple cross between Berkeley’s famous Memorial Glade and San Francisco’s Dolores Park and Paris’s Luxembourg Gardens. Maybe I’m feeling nostalgic or something… Sheep Meadow is a large flat park surrounded by trees and tall buildings and beaming with sunshine in the summertime.

–Per Se. “The urban interpretation of the French Laundry [in Napa, CA].” The wine list is on an ipad. The cocktails are out-of-this-world. The servers are dressed in fancy suits. Sitting at the bar and ordering a drink is what you need to do. NOW. You will pay for your expensive cocktail and your server will bring you popcorn with truffle oil and large roasted peanuts. Sitting at the bar is actually sitting at your own private table. What a steal!

–Bakeri and CB I Hate Perfume Gallery. Bakeri is a cute cute cute little shop with a blue painted entrance and an outdoor garden with a mini waterfall. Grab a light lunch, a coffee, and a little sweet snack and bask in the adorable-ness of this little joint. CB I Hate Perfume is right down the street from Bakeri. Tantalize your nose with perfumes that literally smell like Roast Beef, Bell Peppers, Graham Crackers, Snow, Rain, A Walk on The Beach, and Burnt Leaves. How does he do it?!

-Peeping at naughty nude bodies in the Standard Hotel’s Boom Boom Room. You are on the street. Nude bodies are way up at the top of the hotel. Voyeurism at it’s finest.

When I’m not exploring the “secrets” of New York City, I am exploring how to better myself in the kitchen (both at home and at work). I present to you an ice cream flavor that lies in the realm of decadence and sin and a pleasure that is meant to make you want to rip your clothes off.

Caramel-Buerre-Salé. Salted Butter Caramel. This ice cream tastes exactly how it sounds. Totally rich. Totally in love.

After tasting the famous ABC Kitchen Ice Cream Sundae (salted caramel ice cream, popcorn, candied peanuts, chocolate sauce, whipped cream) last week, my mind started to race. I began reminiscing about the Caramel-Buerre-Salé ice cream that I licked right off the cone last summer in Paris at Berthillon. How have I not already re-created this mind-blowing experience in the form of ice cream yet?

Here you go:

Caramel-Buerre-Salé Ice Cream (Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream)

From David Lebovitz

**A SECRET FROM DAVID LEB.: “The secret is to cook your sugar into a caramel far enough so it’s very-slightly burnt; otherwise it just tastes like syrupy sugar. You want to take it to the edge of darkness, then stop it there with the addition of a few pads of salted butter.”

makes 1 generous quart (liter)

2 cups (500 ml) whole milk, divided
 1½ cups (300 gr) sugar
 4 tablespoons (60 gr) salted butter
 scant ½ teaspoon sea salt
 1 cups (250 ml) heavy cream
 5 large egg yolks
 ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

approximately 3/4 teaspoon fleur de sel or Maldon salt flakes

Make an ice bath by filling a large bowl about a third full with ice cubes and adding a cup or so of water so they’re floating. Nest a smaller metal bowl (at least 2 quarts/liters) over the ice, pour 1 cup (250 ml) of the milk into the inner bowl, and rest a mesh strainer on top of it.

Spread 1½ cups (300 gr) sugar in the saucepan in an even layer. Heat the sugar over moderate heat until the edges begin to melt. Use a heatproof utensil to gently stir the liquefied sugar from the bottom and edges towards the center, stirring, until all the sugar is dissolved (Or most of it—there may be some lumps, which will melt later). Continue to cook stirring infrequently until the caramel starts smoking and begins to smell like it’s just about to burn. It won’t take long.

Once caramelized, remove from heat and stir in the butter and salt, until butter is melted, then gradually whisk in the cream, stirring as you go. The caramel may harden and seize, but return it to the heat and continue to stir over low heat until any hard caramel is melted. Stir in 1 cup (250 ml) of the milk.

Whisk the yolks in a small bowl and gradually pour some of the warm caramel mixture over the yolks, stirring constantly. Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook the custard using a heatproof utensil, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture thickens.

Pour the custard through the strainer into the milk set over the ice bath, add the vanilla, then stir frequently until the mixture is cooled down. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or until thoroughly chilled.

Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. While the ice cream is churning, drizzle in about 3/4 teaspoon of flaky salt.

**Even in the freezer, the ice cream will stay quite soft, which is exactly how I LOVE my ice cream texture to be. Perfect.

Care for another stellar albeit less decadent-tasting caramel ice cream from David Lebovitz? You are just one click away.

Espinacas con Garbanzos [Spinach and Chickpeas]

16 Jun

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Last week I moved across the country to New York City. In addition to all of the clothes and shoes I lugged with me, I carefully managed to wrap up and bring along: my cast-iron skillet, ice cream maker, mixing bowls, knife case with knives in tow, ramekins, whisk, spatula, and a few other miscellaneous kitchen utensils. Also included in my suitcase was a beautiful photograph poster of Julia Child: Lobster Thermidor and a 1500 piece puzzle of a vintage world map.

After weighing my 2 bags of luggage making sure that no bag was more than 50 pounds heavy, I was off. Well, ok, I had a minor stint with security because I put my ice cream maker in my carry-on bag and they had to double and triple check my bag before letting me through. Alas, I am now here in New York, unpacked and in full use of my new kitchen.

Espinacas con Garbanzos. A Spanish snack, a picnic pick-me-up, a light lunch or dinner. Healthy and tasty. Perfect with toast, or homemade croutons, or rice. Smoked paprika should be in your spice cabinet. It will become your secret weapon for wowing your fellow eaters. It helps make this dish pop. Do it.

Espinacas con Garbanzos [Spinach and Chickpeas]

adapted from SmittenKitchen, originally adapted from Moro: The Cookbook and Lobstersquad

makes about 3 dinner-servings worth (double if you are feeding more people or want more leftovers)

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

9 oz. bag of spinach

1 hefty slice of bread from a country loaf or sandwich bread, crusts removed and cubed

2 garlic cloves, sliced thin

1/4 cup of tomato sauce

pinch of red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

salt and pepper, to taste

squeeze of lemon, to taste

Heat half of your olive oil (1.5 tablespoons) in a pan over medium heat and saute your spinach in batches with a pinch of salt and stir well. Remove when leaves are just tender and set aside in another bowl.

In the same pan you just used, heat up 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. Add your bread and fry until lightly browned on all sides. This should take about 3-5 minutes. Add the remaining half tablespoon of olive oil, garlic, cumin, and pepper flakes. Continue cooking for about one minute more.

**NOTE: You do not have to put everything in the blender. I bet this dish would still taste great with the rustic bread cubes instead of a blended sauce.

Transfer the bread mix to a blender with the red wine vinegar and whiz until it becomes a thick-ish paste. Return it to the pan with the tomato sauce, garbanzo beans, and spinach. Add the paprika, salt, and pepper, and serve with lemon juice.

Serve with bread toasts or rice.

 

WANT MORE CHICKPEA RECIPES?

Garlicky Roasted Chickpea Salad with Feta, Herbs, and Lemon

Pumpkin Chickpea Quinoa with Haricot Vert and Almonds

 

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Ricotta Blintzes, From Scratch…with Homemade Lemon Curd

10 Jun

Remember when I started to tell you about the Shavuot feast that my pal Sara and I put on? Well, the real star of the meal was ricotta blintzes that we made from scratch.

With 2 pans going to make our thin crepe-like pancakes, and the oven on to finish and keep warm the filled blintzes, Sara and I were hard at work.

While this was indeed a fun experience, making blintzes from scratch is quite labor-intensive and in my opinion, not worth the sweat. Next time I would opt for the easier yet equally delicious route by making Ina Garten’s Baked Blintz Casserole from her cookbook Back to Basics.

Alas, biting into a homemade blintz filled with a sweet but not too sweet ricotta cheese and dolloped with homemade lemon curd was really like nothing else. The fruits of our labor were worth all of the sweat. It was a fun process with a delicious outcome. All in the name of love, family, and celebration.

The meal: Ricotta Blinzes, Lemon Curd, Veggie Fritatta Casserole, French Bread

Click HERE for my recipe for Homemade Lemon Curd

Sweet Ricotta Blinzes From Scratch

from Picture and Plate

serves 5

**NOTE: Check out my tips for crepe making HERE as a good base to compare methods and techniques.

Blintz Batter:

1 1/2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tsp baking powder

4 tbsp powdered sugar (don’t use for savory fillings)

4 eggs

1 1/3 cup of milk

2/3 cup of water

2 tsp vanilla  (don’t use for savory fillings)

Sweet Filling:

1-2 cup ricotta mixed with a little bit of cinnamon or lemon zest

½-1 cup Strawberry Jam (optional) **You can also make some lemon curd and serve on the side

2 tbsp butter reserved for baking

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the blintz batter, put all the wet ingredients in the blender and blend them for 10 seconds and then pour in all the dry ones and then blend that for 20 seconds. Let the batter sit for a half an hour to relax. It helps the texture get smoother.

When you make the blintzes it’s all about having the right pan and the right heat.  A big wide non-stick frying pan works best if you don’t have a crepe pan. Set the heat to medium high on the stove. I find it easier and healthier to use cooking spray rather than butter to cook the blintzes in. The batter should be thin and spread evenly but just barely cover the bottom of the pan as you tilt it around to spread it. Watch for the bubbles to start to pop on the first side before flipping them over. It takes about 45 seconds on the first side and roughly 30 seconds on the second side. We had two pans going to make it go faster.

**NOTE: I think it is a rule of thumb that your first pancake will always be a mess-up. Just keep on trucking, the pan needs to get to the right heat and then you will be fine.

Fill each crepe with ricotta filling and put in a baking dish. If you are using strawberry jam, spread the ricotta first and then do the jam. Melt the reserved butter and brush it lightly over the top of each blintz. Bake for ten minutes. Eat them.

Rhubarb Ice Cream

8 Jun

Today has certainly been a whirlwind in the kitchen. After a day of lounging and swimming in the pool, my good friend Sara and I cooked up a feast: ricotta blintzes from scratch with homemade lemon curd, a veggie cheesy fritatta baked with breadcrumbs, and rhubarb ice cream for dessert.

Today is the Jewish Holiday known as Shavuot. In short, this holiday is a celebration of the Israelites receiving the Torah and of the seasonal harvest of wheat. Most of what I remember from this holiday is the FOOD. Dairy is the name of the game on this holiday. There are all sorts of explanations given as to why it is customary to eat dairy on Shavuot (see wikipedia). Anyway, I saw today as the perfect excuse to make some ice cream.

Rhubarb ice cream.

So easy to make. First you chop your rhubarb, then you simmer it for 15 minutes until it softens.

(The black piece is a vanilla bean)

Then you combine your braised rhubarb with some milk and some cream. Let it chill. And freeze in the ice cream maker. OOooo this tastes HEAVENLY. And it is the most precious pink color.

Here is my pal, Sara, scooping out the last bits of the ice cream. Check out that smirk on her face, she is going to get every last drop out of that bowl!

Rhubarb Ice Cream

from Not without salt

3-3 1/2 cups rhubarb (I used 6 medium sized stalks), washed and cut into half inch pieces

OPTIONAL: 2 oz (1/2 stick) butter ***I just nixed the butter and threw in a splash of water

1 vanilla bean, seeded

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup brown sugar, not packed (you could probably use regular granulated sugar, too if you prefer)

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

Combine the rhubarb, butter (if using), vanilla bean, vanilla extract, sugar, and salt in a saucepan. Cover and place on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb has softened. Remove the lid and break the rhubarb up with a wooden spoon or spatula.

In a medium bowl, combine the cream and milk and add the braised rhubarb. Cover and let it chill completely in the fridge or an ice water bath. Churn in the ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

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