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A Cast-Iron Cutie: Cherry Clafoutis, Round 2

22 May

Cherry season. Is upon us.

I’m bringing this beautiful cross between a custard and a pancake to an afternoon party in Napa Valley today.

Check the perfectly browned edges, please. With the lightest, airiest, subtly sweet-and- studded-with-cherry fruit-center. Now this is a pancake that’ll get you up in the morning.

While the clafoutis was in the oven, I whipped up some pasta.

Rigatoni with sauteed onions, cauliflower, and pattypan squash. Fresh pesto made in my mortar and pestle. Almonds. Cheese. I ate too much. It was worth it.

A cherry clafoutis was one of the first recipes I ever posted to my blog. 2 years ago. Dang.

Well here I go again. Cherry clafoutis, round 2.

Cherry Clafoutis

serves 8

adapted from 2 recipes: Saveur magazine and Joy of Baking/figsinmybelly

Once again, I keep the pits in the cherries for two reasons:

#1 It is easier and…
#2 The pits give the clafoutis a subtle almond flavor when baked.

Ingredients

1 tbsp. butter

2-3 cups cherries, washed and stemmed (no need to pit them)

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or 1 tsp. almond extract)

6 eggs

5 tbsp. sugar (I used brown sugar because I ran out of granulated)

1 1/4 cups milk

2 tbsp. kirsch (optional: I omitted it because I did not have any on hand)

Pinch salt

3/4 cup flour

Confectioners sugar (optional)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. In a blender or whisking by hand, combine your vanilla (or almond) extract, 6 eggs, 5 tbsp. sugar, milk, kirsch, and salt and whiz for a few seconds until blended. Then add the flour and blend for one more minute until smooth. Let the batter rest while you prepare the cherries.

3. Melt the butter in your cast iron skillet (or any oven proof skillet or pan), making sure to coat the pan and the sides very well. Once the butter starts bubbling, add your cherries, coating them and cooking for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar and continue cooking for one more minute.

3. Pour the batter over the cherry mixture. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Do not open the oven midway through baking. Pull the pan out after 30 minutes, you should have a nice puffed, browned clafoutis. Let it cool for a few minutes then dust with confectioners sugar. Slice and serve.

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Give me an “M” Matzo Lasagna

21 Apr

Matzo lasagna and a shot-glass full of Manischewitz wine. Good dinner. Good dinner, indeed.

Hey it’s Passover, the Jewish holiday that remembers and celebrates the Jewish people’s exodus from slavery. Good stuff. Traditionally Jews celebrate by having a big dinner called a “Seder” (Hebrew for ‘order’) where the story of this exodus from slavery is re-told. Then for 8 days it is common to refrain from any bread products except for matzo, which is an unleavened sheet of crunchiness.

You can make loads of awesome goods with matzo: matzo brei (aka matzo n’ eggs), matzo pizza (aka melted cheese and sauce atop matzo), matzo granola, matzo toffee crunch, matzo spread with butter, matzo spread with cream cheese, matzo slathered with baba ganoush (eggplant dip), etc. etc.

Tonight I give you MATZO LASAGNA. It’s just like regular lasagna but instead of lasagna noodles, I used sheets of matzo that I ran under cold water.

And let me tell ya, this is goooood stuff, especially when you turn on the broiler for the last 5 minutes of baking. Browned cheesy delight.


I sauteed some onion and dino-kale to add between the layers of sauce and cheese. Feel free to use mushrooms, spinach, summer squash, whatever you want.


If you are in a Passover rut, or just like matzo, or just like lasagna, this is the business right here.


Oh, and don’t forget the Manischewitz wine. So sweet, so delish, so much needed.

Matzo Lasagna

I’ve have been making this recipe for over 2 years. I printed it online, possibly from “The Jew and the Carrot” although I have yet to find exactly where on the website.

makes a 13 x 9 inch pan’s-worth of goodness
(8-12 servings?)

Ingredients
1 cup part-skim ricotta
2 cups non-fat cottage cheese
4 cups tomato sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 large bunch kale
Enough matzo sheets to make four layers in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish, lightly softened with water (I just ran it under the tap water for a few seconds as needed)
Grated mozzarella cheese
Salt and Pepper

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a saute pan, brown onions and chopped kale in some olive oil and set aside.

3. In a bowl, mix ricotta, cottage cheese, and some salt and pepper.

4. Spoon 1 cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Cover with one layer of moistened matzo. Layer 1/3 of the cheese mixture, 1/3 of the vegetable mixture, and 2/3 cup of the sauce. Add some salt and pepper between each layer. Repeat twice. Cover with a final layer of moistened matzo, sauce, and mozzarella cheese.

5. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes, uncover and bake another 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese is melted and beginning to brown (I turned the broiler on for the last few minutes of baking). Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Heaven in a mazto.

Vegan Mac (Fusilli) n’ “Cheese”

9 Mar

Creamy. Cheesy (ish). Nutty. Saucy. All nestling inside of each and every curve of the suave fusilli noodle.

Sounds pretty sexy, right? Sexy vegan “Mac” n’ “Cheese.”

But nah this little dish is really quite modest. Especially since I added frozen peas n’ carrots. From sexy to modest to good ol’ comfort food. The cheesy-ness comes from making a roux with a vegan butter substitute (I am definitely a big fan of Earth Balance “butter”), some flour, almond milk, and…drum roll please…NUTRITIONAL YEAST.

What the heck is nutritional yeast? Well, to me it looks like nasty yellow fish flakes. However it does provide a quite lovely (yet acquired) nutty taste and it is jam-packed with B vitamins, protein, and all sorts of good things for your bod.

Some love sprinkling nut. yeast on their toast or atop popcorn. I have not gotten there yet. I have, however, found myself basking in the goodness of nut. yeast melted into a “creamy” sauce sans actual cream.

And as always with mac n’ cheese (and pasta dishes in general), bread crumb topping or homemade croutons are always welcome and enhance the dish.

Now let’s get cooking!

(thanks, Chloe for the great recipe, check out her awesome website)

Chloe’s Vegan Mac N’ Cheese

makes, oh, 8? servings (yay lunch leftovers!!!!)

1 pound of the pasta of your choice
1/4 cup of soy-free Earth Balance
1/3 cup flour
3 cups nondairy milk (I used almond milk)
1 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons tomato paste (I used marinara sauce because that was what I had on hand)
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder (I used fresh garlic)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
optional: frozen or fresh broccoli or peas n’ carrots
also optional: bread crumbs or croutons

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.

2. In a medium saucepan, make a roux by whisking the margarine and flour over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes (yes it looks solid and a bit clumpy, but keep whisking). Add nondairy milk, nut. yeast, tomato paste (or sauce), sea salt, and garlic. Bring to a boil, whisking frequently, then simmer the mixture until it thickens, about 5-10 more minutes. Stir in lemon juice and adjust seasonings to taste.

3. Toss the noodles with the sauce (and veggies, if using) and as Chloe says, “enjoy the sound of suctioning noodles as you mix.”

Next time:
mmm some smoky paprika might be nice! or maybe some pumpkin puree!!!

>Lunch at Eataly

13 Jan

>Eataly is jam-packed with people and Italian food-goods.

There is everything from wine and cheese pairings to il pesce (fish) and la verdure (emphasis on produce). There is a beer garden, a panini stop, a pastry counter, and a coffee shop. You can purchase pastas, meat, bread, fish, cheese, liquor, produce, snacks, and desserts.
After tasting some wine and cheese (we were a quartet of mother-daughter duos), we headed over to dine on Eataly’s homemade Neapolitan-style pizza and homemade lasagna.
On the website, Eataly’s pizza is described as having a charred and elastic crust. I think that is a fitting description. The pizza we ordered was extremely simple; it had San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, and a about 2 basil leaves on top. Is it possible that the simple was almost too simple? Ok ok, the pizza was good. But I have definitely had better. And it sure took a long time to bring out this “simple” pizza.
We also shared a lasagna (“pasta al forno con zucca”) with homemade noodles. It had pumpkin, butternut squash, and Pecorino cheese. This was quite good. It did sort of fall apart when you took a bite, but I liked the flavor and the creamy texture.
I will have to go back and try some of the other restaurant vendors at Eataly, or at least buy some groceries there. It will have to be after the crazy holiday season, though. I don’t know how well I do with large crowds and a lot of noise while I am lunching…oh, everything is an experience in New York…

Eataly NY
200 5th AVENUE
NEW YORK, NY 10010
Entrances on 5th Avenue and 23rd Street

R.I.P. Purple Pumpkin, HELLO Pumpkin Mac n’ Cheese

19 Dec

So we’ve had this ridged purple pumpkin living with us since October. Today was the day that I transformed our dear purple pumpkin into some precious puree.

Before

After

This dear purple pumpkin made a TON of puree.

The 1/2 cup of puree that I used tonight in my pumpkin mac n’ cheese barely made a dent in the sea of puree that is left.

But the mac n’ cheese sure was thick, creamy, and…bright orange!

Pumpkin Mac n’ Cheese
from neverhomemaker.com

  • 1-1/2 cups elbow macaroni
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon flour (any kind will work, I used all-purpose)
  • 1/2 cup skim milk
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (unsweetened)
  • 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup pureed garbanzo beans (or hummus or cream cheese)
  • 1/8 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper
  • OPTIONAL: flaky sea salt, breadcrumbs, fried sage/rosemary
  1. Cook the pasta to the package directions.
  2. While you wait for it to finish: Pour the olive oil into a large sauce-pot and cook over medium heat. Then stir in the flour and keep stirring until the mixture is thick — but not browned. (About 1 minute)
  3. Add the milk and stir constantly for about 3 minutes or so. Until thick.
  4. Add the pumpkin puree, cheese, and pureed garbanzo beans (or hummus or cream cheese), paprika, and pepper. Stir until everything is melted. Add more seasonings to taste.
  5. When you pasta is done, just drain and add to the cheese mixture. Stir for a minute or two, then turn off the heat and serve.
  6. Adding some flaky sea salt, breadcrumbs and/or fried sage or rosemary gives this dish a leg up.

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