Braised Carrots with Garlic, Thyme and White Wine

I am totally creeped out by flaccid vegetables. If a carrot or a stalk of celery can be bent I don't want to look at it. It is no longer fit for consumption raw as far as I am concerned and is usually consigned to a soffrito or mirepoix. However since I had half a dozen beautiful organic carrots in the fridge that had all gone past their prime I had to do something more. Really hoping they weren't completely gone I tried braising them and it worked great! I knew more or a less what I had in mind but I used this recipe as a reference.


Braised Carrots with Garlic, Thyme and White Wine
(serves 2 as a side)

1T butter
2C carrots, cut into 1/4" diagonal slices
2T thyme leaves, roughly chopped
1 large clove garlic, sliced
salt and pepper
1/2 glass wine
1/3C chicken stock

Preheat oven to 400F. Heat butter in a dutch oven or skillet with a lid over medium heat. When melted add carrots, thyme, garlic and a good dash of salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Add wine, bring to a simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken stock bring to a simmer. Cut a piece of parchment to fit over the carrots. Remove from heat and put the piece of parchment on top, cover with the lid and put in the oven for approximately 20 minutes.


Tags: Side Dish, Vegetable, Vegetarian, Carrot

Daring Bakers - Tender Potato Bread

Trying to get it together for this month's Daring Bakers challenge was really hard. I kept having it all planned out and then something would get in my way, not the least of which was our big power outage.

So the days kept passing me by until this past weekend when I got home on Saturday night from some drinks out and I realized that I hadn't done it yet and had less then 48 hours. So I made a rash and slightly drunken decision - to do it immediately. Around 5:30am after making the mashed potatoes and kneading the dough I put it into the fridge and retarded the dough overnight - or early in the morning depending on how you look at it. But I was able to go to bed confident in the fact that I would be able to make the deadline!


I made the loaf which was fine, but the real winner was the focaccia. I decided to make focaccia because I am such a sucker for it - and I think this may be the best recipe I have ever made. It is tied with this one. I kept it really simple with rock salt, rosemary and olive oil. One of the things I really liked about it was how quick it was to make. The next time I am making mashed potatoes I fully intend to just make some extra and use it to throw this dough together.


I have kneaded some wet doughs before but this was pretty challenging, I managed to keep it pretty wet but then it was quite difficult getting it into the loaf pan. The sandwhich loaf also turned out pretty good. For the recipe check out Tanna from My Kitchen in Half Cups's post. She was the one who set the challenge this month - a great pick!

Roasted Garlic, Pepper and White Bean Dip

On girls nights one of our habits is to make dip and eat at least one loaf of bread with it. Usually the dip is made by S, starts with a log of goat cheese and is fabulously sinful. Since we are all on diets for holiday time tropical vacations I tried to change it up this past weekend with something healthier. This was a take on a sun dried tomato version I saw in this months Cooking Light magazine. This turned out well and we served it with veggies. Oh, and in case you are wondering, wine is still on the diet.

Roasted Garlic, Pepper and White Bean Dip

(makes ~ 2 C)

1 head garlic
1 roasted red pepper, from a jar, or made at home
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed (I used navy)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Remove the outer papery skin from garlic but keep the cloves together. Wrap in aluminum foil and bake at 375F for 45 minutes. Allow to cool enough to handle. Push the garlic out of the cloves and into a food processor, add pepper, zest and beans. Taste for salt and pepper.

Yup, its that easy.

Tags: Appetizer, Dip, Vegetarian

Apple Cinnamon CoffeeCake

Ivonne from Cream Puffs in Venice had a brilliant idea to try and get through some of the recipes in her stock pile - Magazine Mondays. I also have a stack of magazines which seem a mile high and which I never cook out of, so I am going to join her this week a day early. I even made an effort to do some organization, going through some of my old magazines and clipping out what I wanted to make - and even better finally making one!


This came from the November edition of Cooking Light. It is the first time I have ever bought the magazine but I really liked it. It had lots of good ideas and recipes to be inspired from. The cake was good and reasonably healthy, my only changes next time would be to cut back a bit on the brown sugar in the streusel - I found it a but sweeter then necessary.


Apple Cinnamon Coffecake
(makes 8x8 cake)

Cake:
1.5 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup apple, peeled and diced
cooking spray

Streusel:
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt for cake with a whisk. In a separate bowl combine milk, melted butter, vanilla and egg. Make a well in the flour mix and pour liquid mixture in. Combine with the whisk just until moist. Fold in apple. Pour batter into a sprayed 8-inch square baking pan.

To make streusel combine the remaining brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender add in the butter. Sprinkle streusel over batter and bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 mins before serving.

Tags: Dessert, Cake, Sweets, Light

Halibut with White Wine and Fresh Oregano

More of what happens when you must defrost your freezer. This isn't exactly a Fall\Winter meal but it will do in a pinch and it worked out quite well as a nice simple quick way to prepare halibut. The fresh oregano was lovely and really made a difference - however I bet a lot of fresh herbs would be nice here like dill, parsley or rosemary. The inspiration for this was from this recipe here.

This is my entry to this week's Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Vanessa from What Geeks Eat. I have posted about oregano\marjoram before but let me just say that my plant is kicking some fall growing butt. Here are a couple other recipes featuring oregano from the archives: Lemon Oregano Salmon Skewers and Grilled Eggplant with Oregano, Parsley and Garlic.

Halibut with White Wine and Oregano
(serves 2)

1 medium halibut fillet
2 scallions finely sliced
1T olive oil
2T fresh oregano leaves
2t fresh lemon juice
1/3C white wine
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400. Place the halibut in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with a healthy dose of salt and pepper. Reserve a small amount of scallions and oregano for garnish. Whisk together scallions, oregano, lemon and white wine in a small bowl, slowly whisk in oil. Pour over fish and bake for 15-20 minutes or until it is cooked through and flakey. Serve with fresh lemon wedges and garnish with remaining oregano and scallions.

Tags: Leftovers, Fish, Seafood, Quick, Halibut

Blackout Potatoes

So, my long weekend turned a little unexpected on Sunday night at the cabin when we lost power. The power is still out and was out when we left Tuesday. It put a bit of a damper on the weekend especially from a cooking scenario, so much for a Daring Baker experiment, it will have to be another weekend. Oh dear.  Highlights include cooking Kraft Dinner on the wood stove (that is Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for you Yanks), turning melted lemon sorbet from the freezer into margaritas and listening to the radio using my cell phone. It is amazing how isolating and quiet it was.

Luckily we had a BBQ as well as the wood stove so we weren't the bad off at all. Really the only unfortunate thing was having to use up what was defrosted in the freezer. Stay tuned for some recipes using halibut, salmon and chicken stock - and lets all take a moment to mourn the blueberries, edamame, chicken and bread that didn't make it and had to get thrown out.

These were some thrown together potatoes for our first blacked out dinner - but they turned out pretty well so I figured I would post them. Yes the picture was taken with a flashlight.

Blackout Potatoes
(serves 2-4)

4 medium red potatoes, cut into quarters
1/2t onion powder
1/2t garlic powder
1/4t paprika
3T olive oil
1/2t salt
freshly ground pepper
1/4t fresh lemon juice

Combine everything but the lemon juice. Grab a large piece of aluminum foil and place the potatoes in the middle, spreading them up so you can fold and tuck the foil up to make a sealed package. Roasted in foil for 20- 30 mins. You could also do this right on the BBQ or with a tray, but I was far too lazy and it was way too wet to stand over it and babysit them. Before serving sprinkle with lemon juice and taste and add salt as necessary.

Tags: Quick, Grill, BBQ, Potatoes

Pulled Pork Quesadillas

So anyone who read my last post might be wondering what fabulous new toy I just bought? Well, it was a slow cooker - specifically the Kitchen Aid Slow Cooker.  So far I have made pulled pork, chicken stock, beef curry and there is currently oatmeal bubbling away. I like it so far although I am still working out some kinks, so I am sure I will havemore to report as time goes on. So far the biggest success by far has been the chicken stock, throw it all in, go to bed and wake up to perfect chicken stock - no skimming!

Well, last week on a busy weeknight I used some slow cooker leftovers to make a fabulous batch of quesadillas.  I am sure this would work well with other meat leftovers as well like roast chicken.

Pulled Pork Quesadillas

(makes 2)

1C pulled pork

1T olive oil

1/2 onion, sliced

2 scallion, finely sliced

1t cumin

1/2 cayenne

3T cilantro, finely chopped

1/2C sharp cheddar, grated

1/2 red pepper, finely sliced

large tortillas

vegetable or olive oil spray

serve with salsa and sour cream

In a a large skillet over low heat add olive oil and onion and cook until caramelized.   In a large bowl combine pork, onion, 3/4's of the scallions, cumin, cayenne, cilantro, pepper, and cheese.  Taste and add salt and pepper as appropriate.   Spread half the mixture on one side of a tortilla, and fold it in half.  Repeat with remaining mixture.  Place a skillet over medium heat. Spray the quesadillas lightly and fry until light brown and crispy on both sides. Serve with sour cream, salsa and remaining scallions.

Tags: Leftovers, Pork, Quick

Butternut Squash and Sage Risotto

Considering that risotto is by far one of my favorite dishes to make I can't believe I have never made a risotto with butternut squash before - especially as it seems to be one of the more popular varieties. However since it is one of the more common varieties I wanted to punch it up a bit more by adding the sage. It was really nice, I served it with an italian red wine based chicken stew.

The funny thing is that I made this almost 2 weeks ago but haven't had the chance to post yet, since then I got my copy of Jamie at Home and he has a Sage and Butternut risotto recipe too! It is surprisingly different but I really like that he fried the sage leaves in butter at the end and used them as a garnish, so I may try that with the second half next one.

Butternut Squash Risotto with Sage
(serves 4)

1 small butternut squash
2 cloves garlic, minced
a dozen large fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper
2T butter
1 small onion
1.5C arborio rice
1 small cup white wine
~1L chicken or vegetable stock
1/2C Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 350F. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut into wedges and arrange on a baking tray or roasting pan. Sprinkle the garlic, and half the sage on the squash. Add a healthy grinding of pepper and salt. Drizzle the olive over the squash and use your hands to rub the squash and distribute. Roast for 30-40 minutes or until tender. When it has cooled slightly take about half of the squash, remove the peel and add it to a bowl. Gently mash to soften but allow it to retain some texture. Set aside.

Start the risotto (you can do this as your squash is cooking).Put the stock in a sauce pan over low heat. In a heavy saucepan or Dutch Oven add 1T butter and onion over medium low heat. Sweat until soft. Increase the heat to medium. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook stirring regularly until mostly absorbed.

Start adding stock a ladle or two at a time, stirring regularly while it absorbs. For every ladle of stock add a few spoonfuls of the squash. Continue until your rice is just lightly al dente. Peel and roughly chop the remaining squash. Stir in the Parmesan and remaining butter and sage. now add the remaining squash. Taste and adjust for seasoning. I find in this sort of dish the seasoning you need changes dramatically depending on what kind of stock you use.

Risotto, Comfort Food, Rice, Squash, Vegetarian

Kale and Sausage Soup

I can already tell this is going to be one of those months workwise. We are already a week into November and I haven't posted once. I have even bought a new kitchen toy and haven't posted about that either. Many apologies.

Luckily I was challenged by our organic box this week when we got kale. I have never cooked with nor, as far I know, eaten kale so it was quite a challenge. From all the googling it seemed like the best and the safest way to cook it for a first was in a soup. So I took a few recipes I saw online and created this Italian version of a classic Portuguese soup.

Who knew kale was so bitter at the early stages of it's cooking? I really liked it though, especially with the combination of the fennel in the sausage, yum! It also held up really nicely in the soup - not falling apart like spinach would've. Since this is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging I did a little reading on kale. We all know it is highly nutritious but what I found really interesting is that it is supposed to freeze well - truly making it the perfect addition to all these winter soups and stews. It was also quite easy to prep. I washed it then took my knife and quickly ran it down each side of the spine and discarded it. What am I not sure of is whether one ever uses the stalks?

Check out more great dishes at the Weekend Herb roundup at The Expatriate's Kitchen. If you are looking for other good warming fall and winter soups check out these from the archives: Carrot and Cashew, Potato and Leek, and Spinach and French Lentil.

Kale and Sausage Soup

(serves 4-6)

1 lb italian turkey sausages
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 small potatoes, peeeled and diced (use a boiling potato)
1 liter chicken stock
1 can tomatoes, with juice
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed or 1.5C dried and cooked white beans (I used kidney beans)
1 lb kale, washed, stems removed and roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Saute the sausages in a frying pan until cooked through. Piercing as needed to release the fat. Remove from the pan and allow to cool enough to slice into 1/3" slices. Set aside.
In your soup pot put the olive oil over medium low heat. Add onions, carrots and garlic and cook for 5 to 8 minutes until its starts to soften and become fragrant - don't let the garlic brown. Add the stock and potatoes and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice and the beans. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Add the sausage and kale and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the kale is tender. Taste for seasoning and serve with well buttered hearty bread. ( I added about 1T of salt and a healthy amount of pepper.)

Tags: Soup, Kale, Comfort Food