Any Given Sunday

"Waste Not, Want Not" Never Goes Out of Style

I've been racing back and forth between Santa Fe and Santa Barbara quite a lot lately, which means there are many half-used food items in my fridge or pantry or cupboard at any given moment. And since I have officially decided to make 2010 the year of making everything from scratch and to not waste anything, the situation has led to some unexpected culinary treats. Here is one of the most simple solutions - turning stale bread into delightfully flavorful (and useful!) breach crumbs -- and you also get to use whatever herbs you have in the bottom of your crisper drawer too!

 

Using a stale half loaf of rosemary lemon bread from a local bakery that we left in our bread drawer all week, and some fresh sage, rosemary and thyme that was left in the fridge, I was able to put away two loverly pint-sized jars of breadcrumbs for later use over potatoes au gratin or a homemade soup.

Just cut the bread into 1" cubes and place in a large bowl.
Chop all of the herbs into tiny, confetti-like pieces
Sprinkle bread cubes with salt and pepper to taste and all the herbs
Drizzle all ingredients with a quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil and toss by hand until bread is well coated but not too moist
Place herbed cubes on cookie sheet and bake in a 350 oven until slightly browned and crisp
Allow cubes to cool, then pulse in a bowl of a food processor until they become crumbs
Store in an airtight jar (like a canning jar) for up to two weeks or freeze until you need to use them.

 

Goat Cheese Souffle (thanks to Deborah Madison)

This goat cheese souffle recipe is from "Vegetarian Supper from Deborah Madison's Kitchen," which is one of my all-time favorite cookbooks. I was always intimidated about making souffles since they seemed difficult and challenging but Deborah's technique makes the process much easier than you would think. This is a no-fail souffle. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
 Butter, plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, for the dish
 1 1/4 cups milk or cream
 Aromatics: 1 bay leaf, several thyme sprigs, 2 thin onion slices
 3 tablespoons butter
 3 tablespoons flour
 Salt and freshly milled pepper
 Pinch cayenne
 4 egg yolks
 1 cup (about 4 ounces) crumbled goat cheese, preferably a Bucheron or other strong-flavored cheese
 6 egg whites
 Several plump thyme sprigs, leaves only

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Butter a 6-cup soufflé dish or an 8-cup gratin dish and coat it with the Parmesan. Heat the milk with the aromatics until it boils. Set it aside to steep for 15 minutes, then strain.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. When foamy, stir in the flour and cook over low heat for several minutes. Whisk in the milk all at once and stir vigorously for a minute or so as it thickens, then add 3/4 teaspoon salt, a few twists of pepper, and the cayenne. Remove from heat. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time until well blended, then stir in the cheese. Don't worry about getting it smooth.

Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they form firm peaks, then stir a quarter of them into the base to lighten the mixture. Fold in the rest, transfer to the prepared dish, then put in the center of the oven and lower the heat to 375° F. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and just a bit wobbly in the center. Remove, scatter the thyme over the top, and serve immediately.

 

Apricot Jam

Thanks to our friend, Jane Handel, who brought us a big basket of apricots from her tree when she visited for dinner last night, we now have 4 pints of apricot jam all put up and ready to eat (well, we actually have three and a half jars left — we ate quite a lot of it for breakfast today). Just peel fruit, remove the seeds, cut into small chunks and cook in a heavy bottomed pan with about 1 cup of sugar for every two pounds of fruit for 45 - 60 minutes. Place cooked fruit into sterilized canning jars and follow manufacturers (or other) canning instructions. Nothing could be easier!

 

4th of July Breakfast Frittata

We have good friends here for the weekend to celebrate Independence Day and for our third annual trip to the opening of the Santa Fe Opera, which took place last night. The Magic Flute started at 9pm and ended at midnight so we all slept in this morning but woke us famished, so I made a frittata from things we had on hand in the frig. I don't fuss over making frittatas at all and always use whatever is on hand -- they are so versatile you really can't go wrong. 

 

Today's version is here:
8 large eggs
3/4 cup heavy cream
Salt, pepper, and crushed red chile pepper to taste
Two large handfuls of baby spinach, washed and spun dry
3/4 lb. mild Italian pork sausage (bulk, not links)
6 to 8 oven roasted tomatoes, chopped (see previous post for recipe)
8 ounces crumbed feta cheese

 

Cook sausage in a heavy, 12" cast iron skillet. After it is fully cooked, remove from pan and drain off all the fat. Preheat over to 375º F. In a large mixing bowl, add eggs, cream seasoning and whisk until fluffy, then add spinach, feta, sausage and roasted tomatoes and lightly toss until barely incorporated together, but making sure all ingredients are coated with the egg & cream mixture. Pour everything back into the cast iron skillet and cook on the stovetop over medium heat until egg mixture begins to cook and hold together. Remove from burner and place skillet in the heated over and bake for 35 to 45 minutes. The frittata will puff up and become golden brown on top. Slice into 8 servings like you would a pie. Serve hot or warm.

Slow Roasted Oven Tomatoes

When the Roma tomatoes become plentiful in summer, I find as many ways to make them last as I possibly can. In addition to make my Nana's marniara sauce with them (in the archive of this blog), I love slow roasting them in the oven. They last a week or so in a sealed container and are great to eat on salads, on bread, or in soups. Enjoy!

  

Slice 20 to 24 plum tomatoes in half lengthwise.
Using your finger, remove all seeds and inner membrane so just the meaty part remains.
Lay them cut side up on a parchment lined baking sheet large enough to hold them all.
Drizzle each tomato with extra virgin olive oil and a tiny amount of balsamic vinegar.
Then sprinkle with salt and pepper and a teaspoon or so of sugar.
Sprinkle again with finely minced fresh garlic, then bake at 250º F for 45 - 50 minutes.
Eat warm or allow to cool and then store in an airtight container in the frig for up to one week.

Tonight's Dessert

Sometimes, the very best desserts are those you leave alone, get out of the way of, and just eat. That is certainly the "recipe" for tonight's figs — we'll drizzle a few tiny drops of balsamic and will slice off a few chards of parm - maybe...

 

Homemade Bouillon

I owe the inspiration for this recipe to Heidi Swanson, who adapted it from the River Cottage Preserves Handbook by Pam Corbin (the US version of which, just came out last week). We make a lot of soups in our house and usually make and freeze a lot of stock but now are in love with the idea of making homemade bouillon. It is very easy to make and each batch makes a lot, so feel free freeze what you won't use right away (and, of course, to give some away). Thanks Heidi and Pam!

 

Homemade Bouillon from 101cookbooks.com by Heidi Swanson

This recipe requires a food processor. I have a 8-cup / 2 liter / 2 quart model, and needed every cubic inch of it. I found the best approach if you are tight for space in your food processor is to add a few of the ingredients, then pulse a few times. The ingredients collapse and free up more space for the next few ingredients. If you don't find yourself using much bouillon, I will suggest making a half batch of this. And for those of you wanting to do a version with no salt, freeze the pureed vegetables in small amounts - say, ice cube trays, just after pureeing them. Introduce salt in whatever amount you like later in the cooking process.

5 ounces / 150 g leeks, sliced and well-washed

7 ounces / 200g fennel bulb, chopped

7 ounces / 200g carrot, well scrubbed and chopped

3.5 ounces / 100 g celery

3.5 ounces / 100g celery root (celeriac), peeled and chopped

1 ounce / 30g sun-dried tomatoes

3.5 ounces / 100g shallots, peeled

3 medium garlic cloves

9 ounces / 250g fine grain sea salt

1.5 ounces / 40 g flat-leaf parsley, loosely chopped

2 ounces / 60g cilantro (coriander), loosely chopped

Place the first four ingredients in your food processor and pulse about twenty times. Add the next four ingredients, and pulse again. Add the salt, pulse some more. Then add the parsley and cilantro. You may need to scoop some of the chopped vegetables on top of the herbs, so they get chopped. Mine tended to want to stay on top of everything else, initially escaping the blades.

You should end up with a moist, loose paste of sorts. Keep 1/4th of it in a jar in the refrigerator for easy access in the coming days, and freeze the remaining 3/4 for use in the next month. Because of all the salt it barely solidifies making it easy to spoon directly from the freezer into the pot before boiling.

Start by using 1 teaspoon of bouillon per 1 cup (250 ml), and adjust from there based on your personal preference.

Makes roughly 3 1/2 cups.

Inspired by Pam Corbin, The River Cottage Preserves Handbook.

Peas and Asparagus from Today's Farmers Market

Even in late spring, peas and asparagus are still abundant at the Santa Fe Farmers Market. Will cook some semi-pearled farro, then will add some chopped herbs, some feta and these lovely vegetables. A simple, healthy meal that is also hearty and satisfying.

 

White Corn Polenta & Chorizo Breakfast

I've posted this recipe before but it bears repeating, especially now that I've discovered the locally grown and ground white corn polenta from Talon de Gato Farm in Dixon, NM (just a little north of Santa Fe), and that is available at the Santa Fe Farmers Market.

A hot creamy bowl of polenta with good chorizo is one of our all-time favorite breakfast meals. The polenta takes 25-30 minutes to cook but it's worth the wait.

Ingredients

1/2 lb. chorizo sausage

4 cups water

1 cup polenta or grits (preferably the white corn polenta that is local to the Santa Fe area if you live around here)

2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese (or parmesan - see note below)

1 tablespoon butter

salt & pepper to taste

sour cream for garnish

cilantro for garnish

hot sauce to add heat (optional)

Cook chorizo sausage in a non-stick skillet on medium-high heat until done, approximately 10 -15 minutes. Keep warm.

Cook polenta in a medium-sized, heavy bottom sauce pan by bringing 4 cups of lightly salted water to a boil, then slowly pouring in polenta while stirring constantly so that it doesn't lump. Once all the polenta in stirred into the water and the mixture has returned to the boil, turn temperature down to medium-low and let cook for 25 minutes longer, stirring occasionally throughout the cooking process so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of your pan. Cook until polenta is the consistency of a thick custard. Turn off heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoons of mascarpone cheese. This will make the polenta quite creamy in texture. Season lightly with salt and pepper to taste.

Note: if you don't have mascarpone cheese on hand, you can use a good quality parmesan instead - just finely grate it and stir it into the polenta after it's cooked, just like you would the mascarpone.

Serve immediately by placing polenta into warmed soup bowls. Spoon cooked chorizo on top of polenta, then garish with sour cream, cilantro and hot sauce to taste. 

Armenian Summer Sandwiches

When half of your household is Armenian, you get the benefit of these delicious sandwiches all summer long: Baljan Garmisa (egg and flour dipped fried eggplant slices with bell pepper, red onion, cucumber, and tomato. Best vegetarian sandwich ever!