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Crispy Kale
Crispy Kale
This is so easy and makes a nice light snack that won't interfere with anyone's appetite for the main event. Serves 6.
1 - 2 bunches of kale, washed and spun dry
1 - 2 tablespoon olive oil
kosher salt
Preheat oven to 300F. Remove kale ribs and chop into bite size pieces. Wash kale and spin dry. On a large cookie sheet or sheet pan toss kale with oil and a generous sprinkling of kosher salt. Place in oven and toast kale for 25-45 minutes, tossing occasionally, until kale is crispy. How long kale will take to dehydrate depends on both the variety of the kale as well as how dry it is when it goes into the oven. Serve as an appetizer or side dish.
Turkey Giblet Stock
Turkey Giblet Stock
Adapted from Epicurious.com. Makes about 5 cups.
the neck and giblets (excluding the liver) from 12- to 14-pound turkey
5 cups chicken broth
5 cups water
1/2 small turnip or rutabaga, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 onion, quartered
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
In a large saucepan combine the neck and giblets, the broth, the water, the turnip, the carrot, and the onion and bring the liquid to a boil, skimming the froth. Add the bay leaf, the thyme, and the peppercorns, cook the mixture at a bare simmer for 2 hours, or until the liquid is reduced to about 5 cups, and strain the stock through a fine sieve into a bowl. The stock may be made 2 days in advance, cooled, uncovered, and kept chilled or frozen in an airtight container.
Beet Risotto with Swiss Chard and Brie
Beet Risotto with Swiss Chard and Brie
You could use the Acer here in place of brie. It should leave you a few ounces to enjoy with bread while you cook. Serves 4.
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 (2 1/2- to 3-inch-diameter) beets, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
4 large leaves chard, stems and leaves chopped separately
2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
5 ounce Brie, rind discarded, cut into small pieces
Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add beets, onion and chard stems. Cover; cook until onion is soft, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, heat broth in a small saucepan. Once the onion is soft, mix the rice into the beets and onion. Saute for a minute. Add wine and simmer briskly, stirring, until wine has been absorbed, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup hot broth and briskly simmer, stirring, until broth has been absorbed. Continue simmering and adding hot broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and waiting until each addition has been absorbed before adding the next, until rice is just tender and looks creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in chard greens and brie a minute or two before removing from heat.
Blue Potato-Orange Carrot Latkes
Blue Potato-Orange Carrot Latkes
Serves 6.
1 1/2 pounds all blue potatoes, peeled
1 lb. carrots, scrubbed
1 small onion
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
oil for frying
crumbled chevre
Using the medium holes of your box grater, grate potatoes, carrots and onions into large bowl. Stir in egg, salt, and pepper. In large nonstick frying pan over low heat, heat approximately 1/2 cup of oil until hot but not smoking. Drop 3 (1/4-cup) portions of potato mixture into pan and flatten with spatula to form 3 1/2-inch pancakes. Fry until golden-brown, turning once, about 5 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and keep warm in oven. Add more oil as necessary and cook remaining pancakes in same manner.
Serve pancakes warm with crumbled chevre and a side salad.
Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
While in Chicago for the Thanksgiving holiday, we checked out Mado, a new restaurant in the city focused on farm-fresh local foods. Their raw shaved Brussels sprouts were a refreshing departure from a traditional preparation and renewed my appreciation for these mini-cabbage heads. Serves 2.
10 oz Brussels sprouts (preferably on the stalk), any discolored leaves discarded and stems left intact
2 TB good quality olive oil
1 TB freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 oz shaved parmesan-style, hard cheese
Slice sprouts into very thin ribbons. If you have an adjustable blade slicer, use it, watching your fingers closely. Toss cut sprouts into a bowl to separate layers. Whisk together oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, then toss with the sprouts. Garnish with the shaved parmesan.
Mushroom Barley Soup
Mushroom Barley Soup
Adapted from Epicurious.com. Serves 8.
1/3 cup pearled barley, soaked 6 hrs. in cold water
1/4 oz dried porcini (1/4 cup)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 parsnips, peeled and choppped
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 lb fresh oyster mushrooms thinly sliced, or shiitakes-stems discarded and caps thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup medium-dry Sherry
3 cups low-salt beef or rich vegetable stock
soy sauce to taste
chopped fresh parsley
Simmer barley in 3 1/2 cups water in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot, uncovered, until almost tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain in a colander. While barley is cooking, soak porcini in 1/2 cup water in a small bowl until softened, about 20 minutes. Drain in a sieve lined with a dampened paper towel set over a bowl, reserving liquid. Rinse porcini to remove any grit, then coarsely chop.
Heat oil in cleaned pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Add carrots, parsnips, shiitakes, porcini, salt and pepper and sauté, stirring frequently, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and mushrooms are golden, 4 to 6 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste, bay leaf, sherry, stock, mushroom soaking liquid, barley, salt and pepper. If soup looks too thick, add a cup or so of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables and barley are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper and soy sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Stir-fried Veggies with Ponzu and Garlic
Stir-fried Veggies with Ponzu and Garlic
Although this recipe originally appeared in a summer Culinate newsletter, it was easily adapted to fall greens and barley. Serves 2-4.
1 bunch chard
3 carrots scrubbed and sliced crosswise, very thin
1/2 head cabbage
canola oil
1 small onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
Fresh ginger, a 1-inch piece, peeled and minced
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Ponzu (citrus-flavored soy sauce available at natural and int'l groceries)
Toasted sesame oil
3 cups cooked (leftover/cold) pearl barley
Have at hand three medium bowls. Prepare the vegetables by first washing them; shake off the water but don’t bother to dry them. Prepare the Swiss chard by first removing the ribs from the leaves; finely chop the ribs and place them in a bowl, then cut the leaves into slivers and place them in another bowl. Add the carrots to the chard stems. Finally, slice the cabbage very thin, and place in its own bowl.
Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a large skillet. When hot, add the onion, garlic, ginger and red pepper; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant. Add the cabbage — and another slug of canola oil if necessary — and cook stirring occaionally for about 5 minutes. Add the chard and carrots and cook over medium heat until almost tender, stirring often. Add the chard leaves and continue to stir-fry until almost tender (or turn the heat down, add a bit of water and cover, to steam instead of stir-fry).
Turn the heat up to medium-high (removing the lid first, if you were steaming) stir-fry for a minute or two, lower heat to medium, then add a big splash of ponzu and a drizzle of sesame oil. Stir to mix, then push vegetables to the outside rim of the pan and dump barley into the center. With a large wooden spoon spread it out in the pan. Once the barley is warmed through, stir the vegetables into the barley. Season to taste with extra ponzu. Serve hot.
Mushroom Casserole
Mushroom Casserole
Adapted from 101cookbooks.com, this is comfort food at its healthy-finest. Serves 8.
2-3 TB olive oil or bacon fat
1/2 pound (8 ounces) mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
1 large onion, well chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons dry sherry
3 cups cooked barley (from about 1 cup dry), room temperature
1/2 tsp crumbled dried thyme
2 large eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup freshly grated hard Vermont cheese or Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Rub a medium-large baking dish (somewhat smaller than a 9x13) with a bit of olive oil or butter and set aside.
Heat oil/fat in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt to taste and saute. Stir every minute or so until the mushrooms have released their liquid and have browned a bit. Add the onions and cook for another 4 or 5 minutes or until they are translucent. Stir in the garlic, cook for another minute. Add sherry and cook, stirring constantly until all the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat. Add the thyme and the barley to the skillet and stir until combined.
In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt/sour cream, and salt.
Add the barley mixture to the cottage cheese mixture, and stir until well combined and then turn out into your prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with 2/3 of the cheese, cover with foil and place in oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 20 or 30 minutes more or until hot throughout and golden along the edges. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and enjoy.
Parsley Pesto
Parsley Pesto
1 cup parsley leaves (thin stems are okay), rinsed and dried
salt
1/2 clove garlic
1/4 cup sunflower or extra-virgin olive oil, or more
1 tsp apple cider vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice
Combine the parsley with a pinch of salt, the garlic, and about 1/2 the oil in a mini-food processor, stopping to scrape down the sides of the container if necessary, and adding the rest of the oil gradually. Add the vinegar, then a little more oil or some water if you prefer a thinner mixture. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Breaded and Fried Celeriac
Breaded and Fried Celeriac
From Mark Bittman's cookbook, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, this process results in crunchy, yet tender celery root strips. Serve with the parsley pesto below. You can also try this procedure with winter squash served with a curried mayonnaise.
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten, seasoned liberally with salt and pepper
1 cup plain bread crumbs
large celeriac, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
3 TB butter, plus 3 TB olive oil for frying
Set out three shallow bowls, next to each other in order, one with flour, another with eggs and third with bread crumbs. To bread celeriac, toss with flour, shaking off extra. Immerse in eggs, then toss to cover with bread crumbs. Set on a parchment-lined cookie sheet until all pieces have been breaded. Heat oil in a medium frying pan over medium to medium-high heat, so that oil reaches about 350F. Fry celeriac, allowing space between each piece, until golden. Flip and fry the other side, about 5-10 minutes total. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining celeriac. If you have a lot of vegetables to cook, keep fried vegetables warm in a 200F oven set on a cooling rack over a cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes. Serve with parsley pesto.
