Scrumptious Street

Fresh Summer Potato Gnocchi

Gnocchi is a wonderful dish that somehow, people tend to forget when they make Italian dinners.  I love it because of its diversity, heartiness and versatility.  More than pasta, it really absorbs the flavors you use with it.  If you can make it fresh yourself, all the better.  But if not, make sure to buy a quality fresh Italian brand.  I like vacuum-packed and fresh, instead of frozen.  The difference between "good" and "bad" is immense and comes down to gummy/pasty or light and pillowy.  This was a fantastic spontaneous gnocchi dish, celebrating the best of summer Italian flavors.  Here's my  "Summer Gnocchi with Fresh Caprino Tomato Sauce and Pistachios".

A few touches were crucial to this dish, and they truly were not only scrumptious but also sumptuous. The fresh Caprino cheese was the star for this sauce.  It is a mild, delicate and very creamy goat's milk cheese that made this sauce light but decadent-tasting.  the pistachios I used were fresh Sicilian with an intense flavor and gorgeous color.  The basil I used is from my balcony planter, and it's my favorite Bush Basil.  I love how it's more fragrant and flavorful than Italian basil and easier to grow in containers.    The fresh fennel too, is a very important component.  Instead of onions I used it to create a summery and fresh taste for the base of the sauce.  The green curlycue you see is a garlic scape and I love its soft and subtle garlic taste. 

Another note about this dish: rather than make my sauce with olive oil, which is usually my choice, I used good unsalted butter here.  I wanted the velvety texture of butter and since gnocchi is made from potatoes, I usually prefer butter-based sauces with it.  It's your choice, but if you're wanting the silkiest texture, use good butter in this one.

Here's my recipe

Ingredients
Serves 2

1 lb. fresh gnocchi
2 T. unsalted butter
1/2 bulb (about 1 cup) fresh fennel, diced
1 garlic scape or clove, minced
2 medium vine-ripened tomatoes, diced
3/4 oz. Caprino Fresco cheese or other fresh delicate goat's milk cheese
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to taste
1/4 c. Sicilian pistachios, chopped
2 T. fresh bush basil, minced

Method:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boiling and salt lightly. 

2. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the fennel and garlic scape and saute until the fennel turns transluscent.  Add the tomatoes and cook until they begin to soften.

3. Add the gnocchi to the boiling water and cook just until the gnocchi floats to the surface, about 3 minutes.

4. Stir the Caprino cheese into the sauce gently, melting and incorporating it thoroughly.  When the gnocchi is finished cooking, skim it from the boiling water and add directly to the sauce.  You may need to use a ladle of water as well if the tomatoes are not too juicy.  Toss the gnocchi and sauce well, until thick and creamy.  Add the pistachios and basil, toss again and serve immediately.

This is my favorite dish of the summer so far.  Enjoy! Try to find the Caprino, it's incredible!

Smoky Grilled Eggplant Dip

I spend a lot of time in my cooking classes teaching people to like things they thought they hated.  In most cases, we dislike food because it's been mistreated or otherwise misunderstood  in some way.  Whether it's over-cooked, under-cooked or simply not understood, we can often lose the maximum flavor and deliciousness for food. This is especially true for vegetables. One of the most common examples is eggplant or aubergine.  Even I, as a child, hated eggplant.  But, it can be incredibly delicious, rich and complex.  The trick is knowing what it wants! It wants to be released from its bitterness and appreciated and coaxed to complexity.  Don't we all? 

Here's my favorite variation on an eggplant dip that is just phenomenal.  It's similar to Baba Ghanoush, but is even more mysterious and zippy due to some of the little twists I put into the recipe.  This is my "Smoky Grilled Eggplant Dip", just in time for Summer parties!

It's light but feels rich because of the texture and the wonderful note chili and lemon juice.  It's deeply complex from the smokiness of the eggplant.  And, because there's no trace of bitterness or sliminess that people associate with eggplant, my guests were hard-pressed to identify it at all!  Many thought of hummus, but knew that wasn't right.  To make eggplant delicious you should always purge it of the bitterness (described in recipe below) and roast or grill it to the point of having a little charred flavor. Eggplant loves to be charred!  If you're frying it you must not only purge it but also squeeze it completely dry and then make sure your frying oil is always 350˚F and never lower.  If the oil isn't hot enough and you're frying eggplant, it will absorb way too much of the oil and that's what turns it into a slippery, slimy mess that can be so unappealing.  This recipe skips all of that by grilling it to soft texture with nice charred grill marks. Sorry, I didn't get a picture of that before I spun it through the food processor.

I think it best to serve the dip with some olive oil flat-bread or something more Mediterranean than a simple cracker. I love these Olive Oil Crisp Breads from Spain, and also like the lightly sugared variety as a contrast to the smoky and tangy flavors from the dip. 

 

Yum! Make this for your next party and I'm telling you -- people will love it and be positively stunned that it's eggplant, likely something on their "Top 5 Foods I Hate" list.

Ingredients
Serves 6-8 as snack

1 medium Italian eggplant, sliced in 1/2" slices, purged of bitterness (see below instructions)
1 T. kosher salt
1 hot long red Italian chili pepper
1 T. pine nuts, toasted
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 package olive oil crisp bread or other crispy Mediterranean flatbreads

Method:
1) Slice eggplant and place in large colander. Sprinkle each slice evenly with the kosher salt, making sure the slices are all covered.  Let the colander drain in a sink or over a bowl for 30 minutes.  The salt extracts some of the juices from the eggplant and particularly, the bitterness.  You'll see the liquid that strains out is dark brownish.  That's bitterness you're removing!  Lightly rinse the salt off the eggplant slices and wrap each slice in paper towels and squeeze dry.  Get as much moisture out without damaging the eggplant.  Spread the slices out flat on a cooling rack and let them sit another 30 minutes.

2) Light a grill our stove burner with grill pan and preheat.  Lightly brush a layer of olive oil on the eggplant slices and grill until soft and nicely blackened, about 4-5 minutes each side.  Remove the eggplant from the grill.  In a small skillet, toast the pine nuts until golden brown and fragrant, bout 3-5 minutes.

3) Add the eggplant, red chile pepper and pine nuts to a food processor and pulse into a thick paste. Add in the lemon juice and ground black pepper and puree until smooth.  Taste and adjust any seasoning.  You may need a pinch of salt since the only salt we used was in the purging at the beginning.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, while the processor is running until the dip is soft and creamy. 

4) Scrape the dip into a serving bowl and serve with olive oil crisp bread or flatbreads immediately.

Indonesian Corn Fritters with Sweet-Hot Chili Sauce

Rarely do I cook from another person's recipe and when I do, I often regret it.  When cooking, I have a specific vision in my mind and my tastebuds can "imagine" exactly what the result should be.  Often, if I cook from another person's recipe, the results are not what my culinary imagination craves.  So, I end up tossing it out and starting over, utilizing any new concepts the recipe might have introduced but basically executing on my vision.  It's a good thing I try again, however, because the second-efforts are always much more successful.  Here in San Francisco, I've been incredibly inspired by the fantastic produce available year-round and the plethora of Asian markets.  I've also met some great chefs, one of whom happens to be Malaysian.  I consulted her on this concept and thank her for some great ideas and starting points.  In the end, however, I came up with my own recipe, which still is quite authentic and yet even more flavorful than the other variations I tried.  This is a typical Indonesian street food called Perkedel Jagung, otherwise in English as "Indonesian Corn Fritters".  

I also made my own riff on a sweet and hot chili dipping sauce to accompany the fritters and add great spice, coolness and that addictiveness I always crave from hand-eaten snacks.  It's too bad I didn't photograph the first attempt to show you the difference.  Mr. Scrumptious is always encouraging me to do that, but I'm usually so disgusted by the failed expectations that I don't want to make it permanent.  The first attempt was doughy and dense like a hush puppy and I was craving more moist inside/crispy outside and flatter like a crab cake.  It was poorly seasoned but with overwhelming spice and bite of raw garlic and raw shallots.  Often in my cooking classes I focus a lot on the difference between seasoning and spice.  They are very different things and one should never forgo seasoning for spice.  Otherwise you have bland, hot food that burns but doesn't taste like anything.  Properly seasoned food should taste like the main ingredient and that ingredient should be elevated and showcased.  In this variation of the dish, the corn is that main ingredient and everything else is there to make corn taste deep and fresh I want the layers of flavor to be built from the corn up. Tangy, sweet, crispy, soft and salty all come together for a complex and fantastic celebration of corn at its most exciting, instead of corn as a staple at its most bland.

So here's how I did it and please, if you try this and don't like MY recipe, please let me know!

Ingredients

Serves 4 as appetizer

1 tsp. freshly toasted and ground coriander

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 medium shallot, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. fresh galangal, minced

1/2 tsp. fresh ginger, minced

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 T. sugar

4 ears fresh sweet corn, kernels cut from cob OR 3 c. frozen corn thawed and squeezed dry

1 T. minced green garlic (now in Farmer's Markets!) or green scallions

1/2 lime juiced and zested

4 T. brown rice flour

1 large egg, beaten

canola oil for frying

For the Sweet-Hot Chili and Cucumber Dipping Sauce (Saus Lado)

4 fresh red Thai chilies, finely sliced

1 clove garlic, sliced lengthwise in four pieces

1 T. seedless English cucumber, minced

1 lime, juiced

3 T. sugar

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. palm vinegar or rice wine vinegar

2 T. ketchup (optional)

2 T. warm water

Method:

1. Make the dipping sauce first so it has time to meld flavors and lose some of the raw taste.  Make sure to leave the garlic in big chunks.  You want the flavor of garlic, but not small pieces of raw garlic to stick to the fritter when you dip.  In a small bowl add the chilies, garlic, cucumber and lime juice.  Stir to cover all veggies with the lime juice.  Add the sugar, kosher salt, rice wine vinegar and ketchup if using.  Go for ketchup if you want a milder and sweeter flavor, leave it out if not.  Stir thoroughly and add in the warm water to thin slightly.  Set aside.

2. In a small skillet toast the coriander seeds and let cool.  Put the coriander, black pepper, shallots, garlic, galangal, ginger, kosher salt and sugar in a small food processor and puree until a smooth paste.  A mortar and pestle is an even better tool for the job if you have one and the inclination to do it manually.

3. In a medium bowl, lightly mash some of the corn kernels with a fork and leave others whole.  This helps create a combination of textures and the mashed corn helps in binding the fritters.   Add in the spice paste mixture and combine well.  Add in the green garlic or scallions and lime zest and lime juice.  Let sit for 20 minutes or so to let the flavors meld.   

4. Add in the rice flour to the corn mixture after sitting a bit and toss thoroughly.  Pour in the beaten egg and stir lightly until well incorporated.

5. In a large skillet, cover the bottom of the pan to 1/4" in high, for a shallow fry.  Turn the heat to medium and when the oil is shimmering hot and sizzling, it's ready.  Drop carefully a large tablespoon of the corn batter into the oil.  You can drop probably 3-5 into a normal sized skillet but do not crowd the pan.  Lightly press each one flat with the back of the spoon.  Fry until the fritters are golden brown on the first side, about 2 minutes and then flip.  Fry the second side until deep golden brown, anothe 2-3 minutes.  Remove fritters from the oil and let drain on a cooling rack with paper towels underneath to catch any excess oil. Repeat in batches.

6.  Serve the fritter while still hot, on a large platter and garnish with chopped chives and lime wedges.  Put the dipping sauce on the side.  Encourage people to give a quick squeeze of lime over the fritters and then dip in the sauce and enjoy!

C & D's New Zealand Vegetarian Pizza

My best friend and her husband went to New Zealand as honeymoon and overall celebration of their love of adventure and each other last year.  I heard reports of incredible food (which wasn't a surprise, NZ has an great food reputation) wonderful restaurants and fabulous wine.  She raved about a pizza they had, which so captivated them both that they enlisted my help to re-create the pizza and get the flavors down in a recipe.  This was a HUGE challenge for me since I actually wasn't there and didn't experience the food first-hand.  I usually have no problem re-creating dishes I've eaten but re-creating based on someone's notes and memory? Tough.  BUT.  She came to visit me and one of our major projects was to make this spectacular and memorable pizza.  Take a look at the delicious, delicate and simply divine "New Zealand Pizza".  

 

I must confess, we did this together once trying to replicate what they had eaten in New Zealand.  It was basically a white(no tomato sauce) pizza with zucchini, mushrooms, feta cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. It was drizzled with honey and also aioli, which are two components that makes the pizza super-scrumptious-memorable-to-die-for.  They did find the pizza just slightly bland when they had it and they'd also ordered a delicious spinach salad with roasted squash and warm red-pepper dressing.  Well, somehow in their restaurant, they ended up putting the salad on top of the pizza and then, it hit EXACTLY the right note and that's what my friend and I re-created.  We made a pizza, we made a salad, and then we put the pizza on top of the salad.  Like this. 

Now, I did think it was delicious.  And, I loved the whole combination of flavors.  But, it was too messy, too complicated and not as simply pleasurable as eating a terrific slice of pizza.  It tasted good, but missed the mark for me.  So, I tried again and re-vamped the recipe to merge the concepts, but eliminate the need for the salad on top.  I integrated the flavors of the salad into the pizza.  And WOW.  In my opinion, my dear friend, this is the ultimate New Zealand Pizza recipe.  I think it turned out even better than the one we made together.  But, if you want them separate still, you go right ahead.  It's your choice.

Here's the recipe for what I liked best in this New Zealand-inspired pizza. Warning, this is time-intensive and process-intensive.  But WORTH IT.

Ingredients

Makes one pizza, serves about 2-4

For the Dough: (makes 2 pizza doughs, I always freeze one)

1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast

1 c. lukewarm water

3 1/4 c. unbleached flour

2 1/2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 T. salt

a pizza stone

a pizza peel

cornmeal for sprinkling

For the Aioli:

2 egg yolks

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 c. canola oil

1/4 lemon, juiced

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. white pepper

water, as necessary

For the Pizza:

1 12" pizza dough rolled out flat, dusted with cornmeal

1/4 c. roasted butternut squash (seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil) smashed or pureed

1/3 c. fresh spinach, sliced

6 cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced, marinated with 1 clove garlic and 1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 c. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1 small zucchini, thinly sliced

1/3 c. feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 c. garlic aioli (from recipe above)

2 T. good quality honey with nice floral taste, orange blossom honey is GREAT

Method:

1. Make the dough: Dissolve the yeast completely in a large bowl with 1/4 c. water.  When dissolved, add 1 cup flour and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.  Gradually while stirring, add 1 T. olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon salt, 1/4 c. lukewarm water and 1 cup more flour.  Add again, until you've used everything in the dough recipe but hold back a little of flour and water the last time. You may not use them all and only need enough to keep the dough soft, but not sticky.

2. Take the dough from the bowl and slap it down hard against the work counter several times and stretch it out to about 10 inches.  Then, begin kneading the dough and folding it over.  Give a quarter turn between each knead.  Repeat for about 10 minutes until the dough is pliable but stretchy.  You can also do this in a stand mixer and dough hook but I like my hands better.  Pat the kneaded dough into a round shape. 

3. Put about 1 tsp. olive oil inside a clean bowl and place the dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 3 hours.  30 minutes before you're ready to bake, put the pizza stone in the bottom of the oven (all racks removed) and preheat oven to 450˚F.  Divide the risen dough in half and freeze one unless you're doubling this recipe.  Flatten the dough with your hands and sprinkle cornmeal on your pizza peel.  Place the dough on the peel and roll out as thin and flat as possible. Let the rim be somewhat higher and thicker than the rest.  I also use my fingers to shape it too.

4. In a small bowl, make the aioli.  Whisk together the egg yolks and add the minced garlic. Slowly drizzle in the oils, a few drops at a time and whisk vigorously.  In essence, you're making a mayonnaise so the faster you whisk and the slower you drizzle the thicker it will be.  Add the lemon juice and whisk again.  Season with the salt and white pepper and whisk again.  If the aioli is too thick to drizzle with a spoon, add a few tablespoons of water and whisk.  

3. Begin layering the pizza while it's still on the peel.  Spread the roasted butternut squash evenly on the pizza dough in a light layer.  Think of this as the sauce layer and don't make it thick, but thinly and evenly spread.  Add the chopped spinach.  (If you're making red pepper dressing, then drizzle that on top of the spinach, see below.) Add the sliced and marinated mushrooms, then the sun-dried tomatoes, zucchini and crumbled feta cheese.  Sprinkle the oregano over the top of the pizza.  Drizzle the aioli over the pizza next and lastly, drizzle or squeeze the honey on top in long, thin stripes.  Do NOT let the pizza sit out at this state.  As soon as it's made, it should go into the screaming hot oven. 

4. Open the oven and slide the pizza onto the hot stone by quickly jerking the peel out from under the pizza.  (Think of pulling the tablecloth out from under a set table.) Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the dough is a crusty golden brown and the topping is cooked, and cheese is bubbling golden.  This make take a few minutes longer, be patient and check the crust every 5 minutes starting at 15.  Remove the pizza stone from the oven and let cool a few minutes.  Cut into pieces, I like to use kitchen shears, and serve immediately.  If you keep the pizza on the hot stone, it'll stay warm while you're eating the first round.  If you use a pizza cutter, do NOT cut it on the stone. Slide the pizza off onto a cutting board first. 

I didn't use the Red Pepper Dressing in my ultimate pizza.  I found the pizza was getting quite loaded up and didn't want it to be wet or soggy.  Also, it was one extra component that was simpler to leave out. I did miss the flavor, but the pizza was still spectacular. If you want to include the dressing too, just whip it together as follows and drizzle it over the spinach layer before you add the mushrooms. You make it using and whirling it together in a food processor until smooth.  Drizzle the oil in last, slowly.

You can see we had it on the stove but that was as a warm salad dressing.  You wouldn't need to warm it if you're going to bake it with the pizza.

Roasted Red Pepper Dressing

1 whole red pepper roasted over open flame (if you don't know how to do this, ask me!)

1 clove garlic

4 fresh basil leaves

1/3 c. parmigiano reggiano

1/4 tsp. kosher salt 

1/4 c. olive oil

Sweet Potato-Chickpea, Spinach and Cranberry Pie

Sometimes, like everyone, I need to peruse a cookbook or magazine to find ideas.  Often, what it does is jolt me into a direction and then I begin to freewheel from there, adding my own touch and flourishes to the dish.  I've learned that my food imagination is similar to painting and sometimes I can approach cooking like a blank canvas and other days I need to sketch something out first.  Another person's recipe, to me, is a sketch.  This sketch came from a great book I have from Chef Ana Sortun and is based on the principles of an Armenian or Turkish chickpea and potato terrine called topik.  My version, took that idea and turned it into "Sweet Potato-Chickpea Pie with Spinach, Cranberries and Apricots".  Here's a look at a slice of the "pie".

Now, some food is pretty and some food isn't necessarily so.  Let me urge you to give this dish a chance despite it's somewhat plain looks.  Its flavor and texture profile is fantastic.  Vegetarians who like interesting and bold flavors will celebrate over this one.  Meat eaters who like experimenting beyond singular starches or vegetables will be wowed.  This dish is terrific, despite looking quite uninspiring.  You can add pinches of the spices, recommended amounts, or handfuls... just depends on your palate.  Keep in mind that if you increase the quantity of spices, you must also increase the quantity of juices -- both ginger and tangelo.  The fresh cranberries are really part of what makes this so wonderful, it gives a lovely and delightful tangy pop.  Pomegranate seeds would also be a great choice for the same reason.  But, with the seedy pinenuts, I didn't want a second seed texture.

The dish is traditionally a terrine or jelly-roll, but in the spirit of rustic winter food, I made it into more of a cottage pie by using mashed potato and layering into a pie dish. Bear in mind, of course, this is neither cottage or shepherd's pie since there's no meat at all.  It's the method that's somewhat similar.  First spread out a layer of the sweet potato-chickpea purée (or mash), then the spicy vegetables and fruit and then another layer of the sweet potato-chickpea mash. Topik usually includes tahini, but I omitted it since I didn't want the dish to resemble hummus.  I love hummus, but wanted this to be my own experiment.  Also, I know many people substitute yams for sweet potatoes in dishes.  I would recommend that you DON'T do it in this dish.  The flavors and textures are distinct and sweet potatoes, not yams, are a key part of this dish's success.  Give it a try, and serve it with a nice spicy-sweet piece of pork, braised beef ribs or better yet, a lovely rack of lamb.

Here's my variation on Chef Sortun's dish.

Ingredients

Serves 6-8 as a side or first course

1 cup chickpeas, rinsed and drained if canned or soaked and boiled to tenderness of dried

1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks

2 T. butter

Kosher salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

1 large onion, peeled and finely diced

4 T. extra virgin olive oil

8 oz. stemmed and washed fresh spinach, roughly chopped

2 large cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 c. fresh cranberries, washed and cut in halves

1 fresh large tangelo or tangerine, squeezed for juice

1/2 tsp. fresh ginger

4-6 whole dried apricots, finely chopped

3 T. lightly toasted pine nuts
1 tsp. ground allspice

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cinammon

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Method:

1. In a small saucepan, bring the sweet potato and water to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently until the sweet potato is soft, about 15 minutes.

2. Drain the chickpeas well, whether canned or you've just soaked and boiled them according to dry package directions.  Pour the chickpeas into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade.  Remove the sweet potato from its water, when soft and drain, reserving a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid.  Place the sweet potato back into the dry saucepan and mash gently with a fork, adding the butter.  Season with a pinch of kosher salt and black pepper, to taste.  Scrape the mashed sweet potato into the bowl of the food processor with the chickpeas.  Process the sweet potatoes and chickpeas until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.  Add 1-2 T. of the sweet potato cooking liquid and process another minute, until very smooth.  Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.  Scrape out the mixture and spread on a dish or platter to completely cool.

3. In a large saute pan add the olive oil and bring to medium high heat.  Saute the onion until it's soft and translucent, about 6-8 minutes.  Stir in the spinach and cook for about 5 minutes, until tender.  Stir in the garlic and cranberries and cook until they begin to soften.  Squeeze in the tangelo or tangerine juice and stir thoroughly.  Immediately add the apricots and ginger, then stir again.  Add the spices, in sequence, stirring and shaking the pan to evenly distribute the spices.  Taste and add any additional salt or pepper that's needed and adjust spices according to preference.  Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

4. Preheat and oven to 350˚F.  Spray a pie pan (preferable use a ceramic one or something that can go from oven directly to table) with non-stick cooking spray and spread in a layer half of the sweet potato-chickpea mash.  Use the back of a spoon or spatula to even out the first layer.  Spoon in the spinach and cranberry mixture, spreading evenly with a spoon.  Flatten and press firmly down on the pie.  Spoon on the second half of the chickpea mixture and spread evenly as the top layer or "crust" of the pie.  Cover with aluminum foil and place in the warm oven.

5. Bake the pie for 20 minutes covered, then remove the foil and bake another 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.  Cut with a knife into traditional pie-shaped and spoon onto plates.  Serve immediately and enjoy with a nice, fruity and bold red wine.

Wensleydale-Cranberry and Port Wine Glaze Spirals

This holiday season has been incredibly busy for me, more time cooking and teaching and in the kitchen than ever before.  While I regret that my blogging has taken abuse for it, I've really been creating some terrific new dishes.  Sadly, not able to document everything, I'm just going to be sharing the best of the holiday season with you now.  This one, is spectacular! I'd recommend it for all your winter parties, including those for New Year's and even Super Bowl parties.  I tell you, it's a hit!   Here are my "Wensleydale Cheese-Cranberry and Port Wine Glaze Spirals".

I served them in this photo with walnuts that I also candied with the port wine glaze and some plump and lucious Medjool dates.  It is a spectacular and very special hors d'oeuvre that is full of warm and comforting flavors that are very unique and memorable.  

Wensleydale is one of my favorite cheeses from England, that is similar to a mild white cheddar with floral notes and a crumbly texture.  It melts nicely, but not smooth and creamy like a brie.  Rather, it also melts like a cheddar.  Good for an appetizer that you want to retain its shape.   You can usually find it in specialty cheese shops and sometimes, even in your local supermarket.

The port wine glaze recipe I made below is terrific for making candied spiced nuts, particularly walnuts or pecans.  Both times I made the spirals, I made extra for port-wine glaze for the nuts.  I'll give you enough glaze here to do the same.  To make the nuts, you simply toss them in the glaze after it's thick enough to coat a wooden spoon and just short of a caramel consistency.  

For the spirals, I made the glaze first while the puff pastry was defrosting.  Then, the filling.  I used frozen pastry but I think I'm ready to tackle making my own.  Here's how the recipes for the spirals worked out:

Ingredients

Makes about 60-70 spirals

For the Port Wine glaze (includes enough extra to spice nuts):

1 c. good, robust Ruby Port

1 c. fine granulated sugar

1/8 tsp. ground allspice

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

2 small fresh bay leaves

For the Wensleydale-Cranberry Spirals

1 package or two full sheets of puff pastry, thawed according to package directions

8 oz. fresh Wendsleydale cheese, crumbled

1/4 c. dried cranberries, finely chopped

1/4 c. spiced pecans or walnuts, chopped

1/2 tsp. fresh oregano, finely chopped

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Remove puff pastry from freezer and let thaw according to package directions.  Preheat oven to 400˚F.

2. Make the port wine glaze: In a saucepan, bring all the ingredients for the glaze to a gentle simmer and stir to dissolve the sugar.  Let the wine and spices simmer without stirring and while the sugar melts it will begin to thicken into a glaze.  When the glaze is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, remove from heat.  Pour 1/3 cup of the glaze into a small bowl and set aside.  Use the rest of the glaze to make spiced walnuts or pecans: add the nuts to the saucepan with the port glaze and stir to evenly coat. Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper and spread the nuts evenly into a single layer.  Bake for 8-10 minutes in the oven, making sure not to scorch the nuts. (Check at 7 minutes.) Remove pan from oven and let nuts cool completely, then break apart any that are stuck together.  Store in an air-tight container or serve.

3.  In a medium bowl combine the cheese, dried cranberries, oregano, chopped nuts, salt and pepper.  Toss gently with a fork to incorporate.

4. Spread out the thawed puff pastry, and cut each sheet into thirds lengthwise. Most brands (including Pepperidge Farm which is the most common) will have folds in the puff pastry, so you can cut right on the fold line.  One sheet at a time and roll out to 1/8" thickness and a rectangular shape using a loured surface and rolling pin.  Take the reserved port-wine glaze and using a pastry brush, gently brush a light layer of the glaze on the rectangle of the puff pastry.  Leave about 1/4" space on one long side and both short sides of the rectangle. Leave about 1/2" space on one long side of the rectangle.

5. Spread the cheese mixture evenly over the glaze, using a spoon to scatter it and your finger to make it even. Make sure to cover it evenly but not too thickly, since you'll be rolling up the pastry.  Also, you will make about 6 of these individual rolls, so try to reserve the proportionate amount of cheese mixture. 

6. Begin at the long end with filling closest to the edge and turn it so it's facing you.  Slowly roll up the dough and filling, taking care to roll evenly and tightly as you go.  Roll until you reach the long end of the dough that has extra space.  Dip your fingers in a small bowl of water and wipe your forefinger along the blank dough.  Seal the pastry into a roll, squeezing any extra air from the edge you sealed with water.

7. Wrap the roll in plastic wrap and immediately refrigerate.  Repeat this process with all of the sections of your pastry.  In most packages you will have two full sheets, which will make six rolled-out rectangles of dough.  Refrigerate all the dough at least an hour before baking and up to one day in advance.  You can also freeze the dough rolls and thaw in the refrigerator the day before you want to bake them off.

8. Preheat oven to 400˚F 30 minutes before you want to bake the spirals.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper and remove the pastry rolls from refrigeration.  Take off the plastic wrap and cut the dough into equal pieces (about 12 per rectangle) that will be a "spiral" when laid on its side. Spread these out evenly on the baking sheets.  Bake each sheet 10-12 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.  Remove from the oven and cool just enough so that you won't burn your mouth, about 5 minutes.  Serve immediately! They go deliciously with champagne!

Cheers and a very Happy New Year to you all!

Persimmon and Green Bean Sauté

The late autumn and early winter produce here is still looking good and Persimmons are one of those I just love to use during the holiday season.  They are unique and delicious and provide a beautiful pop of orange color to dishes. I taste hints of banana and sometimes honey in them.  Beware, however.  These fruits can be awful if eaten unripe, whether the Fuyu or Hachiya variety.  They are very astringent and puckery tart when unripe and will leave you feeling like your mouth and teeth have been scrubbed with chalk.  Eat them when they feel heavy, are bright orange and the flesh springs back slightly when you probe it with your thumb.  You don't want them hard but don't let them get to the point of mushy-soft.  Thing of how a ripe, heavy tomato feels.  That's a good start.  Also make sure the stem-end is still green, you don't want to buy one that's gone black or dark brown on the ends.  Here's a photo of my Fuyu persimmons, raw and ripely ready to eat.

I like to treat them simply, and let their sweetness work with savory and vegetable flavors.  In this case, a simple sauté did the trick perfectly. I make variations of this green bean dish quite regularly, and always find something new to add or experiment with.  Sometimes, it's for crunchy texture. Sometimes it's something for color, other times, it's for a powerful flavor.  Or, a combination of these three elements will yield a new addition to my old stand-by.  In this case, using the persimmons, I wanted sweetness and color.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to photograph this as I wanted due to practical limitations.  But trust me the final dish, though not too beautiful, sure was tasty!  Here's my "Green Bean and Persimmon Sauté in a Brandy Cream Sauce."

Ingredients
Serves 4

1 lb. fresh green beans, washed, snipped and halved
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
1 head celeriac,(another of my favorites) peeled and cut into small dice
3 fresh leeks, washed and minced
2 T. fresh thyme, minced
2 small fresh Persimmons, peeled and sliced thinly
1/4 c. brandy
1 - 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 T. heavy cream

Method:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and blanch green beans for 3 minutes, until they've just lost the raw taste but are still crunchy.  Drain and rinse with very cold water.

2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil to medium high and sauté the celeriac until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add the cremini mushrooms and sauté until they turn a deep golden brown.  Toss in the green beans and leeks and sauté until the beans begin to lose a little crunch and the leeks are softening but not yet brown.

3. Toss in the thyme and persimmons and heat through.  Add the brandy to the pan and toss gently, stirring to mix ingredients together.  Lower the heat to medium and let the vegetables cook another couple of minutes, until the brandy is cooked off and the beans have a good, firm al dente bite.  Season with salt and pepper, tasting to adjust.  Add the cream and cook until it's thickened 1-2 minutes more.  Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Try this dish at your holiday table.  I promise it won't disappoint you or your guests.  It's delicious and memorable, a perfect special-occasion vegetable side dish. Happy Holidays!

Cranberry-Tangerine Sauce

I love real cranberries during the holidays but can't stand the canned stuff. My Mom makes a terrific homemade cranberry relish similar to this one that I love having whenever we visit them for the holidays.  But, I started doing my own thing on a quest for my ultimate cranberry sauce a while ago and have perfected my recipe in recent years.  This is much thicker than many sauces, but not like the canned "jellies" you see everywhere. Here is my "Cranberry-Tangerine Sauce", a perfect accompaniment to turkeys, stuffings and potatoes.

The sauce is both sweet and slightly tart, a little tangy and a little warm and spiced like a good spiced red wine.  It's full of flavor and depth and the consistency when fully set is like a loose jam.  Here in my photo it still hadn't set so it's a bit smoother and runnier in the picture.  This compote gets so much better as it sits in the fridge so make it the day before you want to eat it or first thing in the morning, the day of your meal!  Once refrigerated a while the tastes intensify and the texture becomes spreadable, perfect for slathering on poultry.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating!

Ingredients
Serves 8-10

1 bag fresh cranberries
1 c. sugar
1 c. water
1/2 c. fresh tangerine juice, squeezed
1/2 stick whole cinnamon
1 whole star anise
zest from 1 tangerine (about 2 tsp.)
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of ground allspice

Method:
1. In a medium saucepan combine the cranberries, sugar, water, tangerine juice, cinnamon stick, and star anise.  Turn heat to medium and bring to a gentle boil.
2. Once the sauce is starting to boil and becoming thicker, about 4-5 minutes, you will hear the cranberries skins begin to pop.  At this point add the zest, the nutmeg and allspice and stir with a wooden spoon.
3. Let the sauce gently boil until the cranberries begin to break apart and the sauce becomes thick, like a runny jam, about 2-3 minutes more. Stir frequently but not continuously.  Break apart some of the cranberries with a wooden spoon.
 
4. Remove the sauce from the heat and pour into a heat and refrigerator-proof bowl.  Let the sauce cool until it stops steaming.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until 20 minutes before serving.  Remove and let come to room temperature, serving in a bowl on the side.  Use as garnish, spread or any way you like it.  Enjoy!

Roasted Golden Beets, Cippolini and Fresh Figs

One of my favorite and highly anticipated Autumn ingredients is fresh figs. Sweet, juicy, full of flavor and wonderful texture, they are a terrific addition to many dishes. Here in California, where many figs are raised, they have been the little gems of the Farmer's Markets.  Whether it's this vegetable side dish or my favorite holiday dressing, I love cooking with them. Recently I found some that were so purple and plump that they cried out for me to create a new dish. Here is my "Roasted Golden Beets, Cippolini and Figs".

I love roasting beets too, but this dish turned out very special because even though all of the major ingredients are vegetables, all three sweeten beautifully as they roast. The sugars develop so that your final result is satisfying and scrumptious, and works as a great side dish to pork or red meat. It's really a simple recipe but each ingredient is there to complement the others, so that a bite gives you a little of everything. You could also substitute the beets for any number of fantastic dark-fleshed winter squash or edible pumpkins. Let your imagination run! Typically when I prepare beets, I roast them first with skin on to develop maximum flavor and retain as much moisture as possible. In this case, however, I wanted all of the flavors to blend while roasting. So, I peeled the beets before roasting. Little differences in technique like this really determine how much your flavors work together or maintain their individual tastes.

Here's my simple and fast recipe.
Ingredients Serves 4 as side dish

4 large golden beets, peeled and chopped
8 cippolini onions, peeled and left whole
6 fresh figs, rinsed and sliced in half
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
4 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Method:
1. Wash and peel vegetables. Chop beets and place beets, cippolini onions and figs in a mixing bowl.

2. Add the thyme leave, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to the vegetables in the bowl and toss thoroughly. Spread them out flat on a rimmed baking sheet or shallow roasting pan so that everything is in a single layer.

3. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and roast in the oven 40-45 minutes, until the beets are just fork-tender but not soft. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Hot Italian-style Giardiniera

I've been scrambling to get the best out of the Farmer's Markets before they close down for the season.  Although here in Northern California there are many stands open year-round, one can only eat so much kale and brussels sprouts.  So in the last few weeks of great produce, I've been stocking up on goodies. 

One thing I love but had never made before is the classic pickled Italian antipasto or salad condiment, Giardiniera.  My best friend here in the Bay Area is Italian and casually mentioned it to me one day recently.  That was enough to inflame a craving so I decided it was time to try my hand at such a simple but yummy food. Here's my first spin at "Hot Italian-style Giardiniera."

Now, I like tart foods.  And, I like spicy foods.  But this stuff can be positively addicting with its tartness, saltiness, spicy goodness.  It's perfect to eat with something rich like leftover roast beef sandwiches, Italian salumi or even as part of a lovely rice salad.  You can also alter it to use any kind of vegetables you like.  Carrots, Celery, Cauliflower, Onions, Olives, Sweet Peppers are standard but you can go in any number of directions with your favorite salad-type vegetables.  So, let out your creativity and give it a try!

Here's my initial recipe, which I will be altering in coming months.  This is based on another recipe I'd seen and had way too much salt.  I cut back, but still it wasn't right.  Still very edible, but it needed to be eaten with something fatty to not be too harsh.  Stay tuned, I'll post a perfected recipe later.

For now, we can start with:

Ingredients
Serves 10

3 small serrano chiles, de-seeded and chopped
6 scallions, chopped, white and light-green only, chopped
2 c. fresh cauliflower florets
6-8 pepperoncini, diced
1 orange bell pepper, small dice
1 celery stalk, small dice
6-8 baby carrots, small dice
2 cloves garlic, whole and peeled
1/4 c. kosher salt
1 T. dried oregano
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. celery seeds
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, whole
6-8 large meaty green olives, pitted and chopped
1 c. white vinegar (should use white wine vinegar instead)
1 c. extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1.  Combine all vegetables in a large glass bowl.  Dissolve salt in 2 cups water, pour over vegetables and add enough additional water to complete cover the vegetables.  Cover bowl and refrigerate overnight.

2. The next day, drain and rinse the vegetables and pat dry.  Rinse bowl and place the dried vegetables pack in the bowl.  Mix all the spices, olives, oil and vinegar.  Pour over the vegetables and gently stir to cover.  Allow to marinate in the refrigerator at least 48 hours before eating, stirring with a large spoon every few hours.

3. Eat with salad, meaty sandwiches, or antipasto platter with Italian meats, cheeses and crackers or crostini.

Next time, I'll improve a bit on the salting process and also let it wait even longer before eating.  I'll likely make enough to preserve several jars as well.  In the meantime, this looks like a decent recipe.