Twice-Cooked Beets in Chianti Glaze

The wine glaze both balances the natural sweetness of the beets and intensifies the savory beet flavor. This dish and perhaps some smashed new potatoes would make a fine meal with a roast chicken or other fowl. From the October 2003 Bon Appetit. Makes 6 servings

8 2 1/2-inch-diameter beets, trimmed, scrubbed
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium leeks por a bunch of small (white and pale green parts only), trimmed, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
2 cups Chianti or other dry red wine
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

Preheat oven to 450°F. Toss beets with 2 tablespoons oil in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Roast beets uncovered until tender when pierced with knife, about 1 hour. Cool beets slightly, then slip off peel. Cut beets into quarters.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and sauté until translucent and tender, about 12 minutes. Add beets to skillet; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté 5 minutes. Add Chianti and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until wine almost evaporates and glaze coats beets, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Add butter and stir until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.
I bake them in foil packets and moisten them with the savory juice that accumulates inside as they bake.

Asian Cucumber Salad

I have offered this one up before. I love it though and made it again last night and it's just so good. So in case you missed it last time....

1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 TB honey
1 TB soy sauce
1 TB rice vinegar
2 cucumbers, peeled, cut in half, scoop seeds out, then thinly sliced

Toss together. Best after a few hours and still excellent the second day

Ratatouille

It's the season for this classic French casserole, a delicious stew of eggplant, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, and zucchini. By Julia Child

1/2 pound eggplant
1/2 pound zucchini, trimmed
1 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 8-ounce onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
2 green bell peppers, thinly sliced into strips
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 pound firm but ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, cut into 3/8- to 1/4-inch-thick strips
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Peel eggplant; cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices, then cut into 3-inch-long, 1-inch-wide strips. Cut zucchini into same size strips. Place vegetables in large bowl; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Let stand 30 minutes. Drain; dry with paper towels.

Heat 4 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add eggplant and zucchini to skillet; sauté until light golden, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to plate; reserve.

Add 3 tablespoons oil to skillet; heat over medium heat. Add onion and peppers; sauté until just tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

Place tomato strips atop onion-pepper mixture in skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover skillet; cook over low heat until tomatoes begin to juice, about 5 minutes. Uncover; baste vegetables in skillet with juices. Boil until juices are almost evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer 1/3 of onion-pepper-tomato mixture to 2 1/2-quart pot; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley. Top with half of eggplant and half of zucchini, then remaining onion-pepper-tomato mixture; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley. Layer remaining eggplant and zucchini over; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley. Cover; simmer over low heat 10 minutes. Uncover; tilt pot and baste with accumulated juices. Increase heat to medium; simmer uncovered, basting several times with pan juices until only 2 to 3 tablespoons juices remain in pot, watching closely to avoid scorching, 10 to 15 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cool slightly. Cover; chill. Serve at room temperature or rewarm over medium-low heat before serving.

Bruschetta

Such a great bruschetta week with all the tasty things in the share! There are lots of ways to make great bruschetta. I have an easy way that works great for me that I'll share here.

1 Baguette, sliced on the diagonal (for larger slices) or in rounds 1/2 inch thick.

1-2 fresh chopped tomatoes (seeds pushed out with your thumbs first to lose some of the juice)
a clove or two of garlic minced
small handful of basil chopped
olive oil
black pepper
balsamic vinegar

optional - fresh mozz, goat cheese or feta

Toast the baguette slices in the toaster lightly. Lightly is important because you will toast them again. After toasting the first time, brush them with olive oil. Then spoon some of the tomato mixture onto the toasts. At this point you can also place some torn fresh mozz slices or some crumbled feta or goat cheese on top of the tomato mix. Return the toasts either to a preheated oven or toaster oven and bake at 400F for 5-10 minutes until everything is heated through but before toasts start to burn.

Chop the veggies and mix them all together. Taste a spoonful and decide if it needs zing. A bit more black pepper or a drizzle of good balsamic will go a long way.

Fresh Mozz, Basil, and Tomato Pizza

Olive oil
a small to medium handful of fresh chopped basil
a couple fresh tomatoes
3-6 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
torn fresh mozzarella
a little salt and pepper

Brush your crust with the oil for the flavor. Put on the basil and garlic, saving a bit of fresh basil for garnish. I think most people put their basil on top for color and presentation effect. I like mine underneath, protected from the hot oven by the other toppings. Then top with tomatoes sliced thin or diced. I like to take the seeds out of mine so there's less tomato juice on the pizza. Then top with slices of the fresh mozz. I like a bit of salt and pepper on mine and sometimes I drizzle on a bit of really good balsamic. Bake until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is done. I think most people put their basil on top for color and presentation effect. I like mine underneath, protected from the hot oven by the other toppings. Once the pizza is out of the oven, top dress it with a little extra fresh basil.

Pizza Dough

This is my favorite recipe for pizza dough which I make all the time. I make it in batches and freeze dough lumps. A kitchen aid mixer or other device to mix dough makes life a lot easier, but I also made this for years by hand. The yield on this recipe is 3-4 cookie sheet (or baking stone) sized pizza crusts.

3 cups warm wrist temp water
1 rounded TB of active dry yeast
3 TB honey
1.5 TB salt
6-8 cups flour (I use up to 1/3 whole wheat flour and the rest Milanaise (unbleached white) all purpose)

Place the wrist temp warm water in a bowl (or the bowl of a mixer). Sprinkle in the yeast and then honey and give the yeast a few minutes to proof (let it get all foamy/yeasty which demonstrates yeast is working). Mix in a few cups of flour and then the salt. Keep adding flour until the dough is smooth, pliable, not too sticky. Too much flour will yield a dough that is hard to work with and tough. But too little flour is also challenging in that it is hard/sticky to handle and when stretching and if your oven time is not long or hot enough you may have soggy dough in the middle of your pizza. Don't worry though. There's a pretty large margin of error here. Go with your gut, you will be fine. Once the dough feels right, cut it into 4 pieces. At this point you can toss 2 or 3 in the freezer if you'd like (lightly flour dusted and tossed into a tightly sealed plastic bag).

If using your pizza dough, let it rise now in a clean oiled bowl for about an hour until doubled in bulk. Then punch it down and stretch it (lightly dusted with flour) or roll it out on a floured board. I don't have a pizza peel but I do have a stone. My process is this:

Preheat the oven to 450 with the baking stone inside and let it get nice and hot.
I stretch my dough out on a piece of parchment paper sprinkled with cornmeal to prevent dough from sticking.
Then I dress my pizza with toppings.
Next I slide my parchment paper onto a cookie sheet and bring to the oven and then slide the parchment with pizza onto the baking stone.
Bake for 5 minutes until the pizza firms up a bit.
Then carefully, ever so carefully slip the parchment from under the pizza so it's baking directly on the stone.

Then bake for another 5-8 or so minutes until it looks just perfect.

pizza dough
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound mushrooms, trimmed, cleaned and sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
4 ounces goat cheese
4 walnuts, shelled and chopped
About 1 heaped cup arugula leaves
1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon walnut oil

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone inside, if available. Roll out the dough to fit a 12- to 14-inch pizza pan.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy skillet, and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are tender and moist, four to five minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.

Wheat berries are the unprocessed seed (or kernel) of wheat. To make flour, dried wheat berries are ground in a mill. Unsifted, you will end up with whole wheat flour. White flour is ground wheat berries with the bran and germ (a.k.a. nutrition) removed. Instead of grinding these wheat berries, however, try cooking them. They make a great salad, pilaf, stuffing, casserole, salad garnish or substitute for rice. Soaking your wheat berries overnight will speed cooking and save energy. Soak them in cold water for 8 to 12 hours, change the water, then simmer them for about an hour. I like to cook them in plenty of water (say 4-5 cups of water to 1 cup wheat berries), then just drain any extra water off at the end. You'll know they are finished cooking once they've puffed up and they are no longer firm to the tooth. I have read that salted cooking water will make the berries tougher. While I haven't tested this theory myself, I just salt them at the end to be sure. One cup of dry wheat berries will make enough to serve a family of four. I like to make extra wheat berries when I cook them, say 2 dry cups, then use the extras for a second meal later in the week, or freeze half for later in the month.

Eaten cooked or raw, watercress has a slight peppery flavor. It has been an important green for centuries long recognized in many cultures for its healthful properties. Wherever Watercress has been reported in history it has been common to simply eat the crisp green sprigs out of hand old world snack food . Watercress may be eaten raw as in a simple salad with oil and vinegar, or wilted in soups or other dishes. Try it in a classic British sandwich: butter and cream cheese spread on two slices of bread with watercress in between. Liven this simple sandwich up with thinly sliced radishes or cucumbers. Or try one of the several recipes I have included below. This is another in the superfood group. Watercress is a very powerful antioxidant. A two year study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2007 determined that eating watercress daily can significantly reduce DNA damage to blood cells, which is considered to be an important trigger in the development of cancer. It is brimming with more than 15 essential vitamins and minerals. Gram for gram, it contains more iron than spinach, more vitamin C than oranges and more calcium than milk.

This week we have both chicken AND vegetable broth. Nick has been testing broth recipes in the kitchen. The veggie broth was so good that I drank a cup with my lunch last week. Neither broth contains any salt.

Meg and Pete were very excited about the tomato puree this week. They had some red pepper puree in the freezer from this past summer and decided to mix it in with the tomato. They report that this batch has a wonderful taste and texture. Keep the puree in your freezer until ready to use. Defrost in the fridge the day before you plan to use it. You can also thaw it by placing the container in tepid water for a couple of hours before use.