PICNIC INSTEAD

Friday, October 14, 2005

Okay, so not only did the gnocchi not turn out so well,--a doughy, sticky mess--but also, last Friday when I was supposed to make it, it was absolutely gorgeous outside, and David and were both home early. So instead of chaining myself to the kitchen, I made some impromptu picnic food and headed to the park with my husband. In lieu of describing my gnocchi disaster (which I hope to rectify soon, just not that night), I thought I'd share this idea because it turned out to be so yummy. A couple of caveats: 1. Don't take this to a fancy dinner party; it is terribly messy. 2. Do not eat it if you are afraid to use your hands; otherwise you may never get any cheese in your mouth.

Alright, with that said, here's what I did. We had ball of fresh mozzarella that I'd been meaning to use all week, a tomato from the farmer's market, leftover phyllo from the spinach pie, and a delicious abundance of basil in my backyard. So...I quickly whipped up some pesto, rolled the mozzarella in it, and wrapped the whole thing in phyllo sheets, brushed with butter. While it was baking (at 375 degrees), I sliced the tomato and tossed it with a little bit of olive oil, a clove of crushed garlic, and a lot of Kosher salt. I let the phyllo-wrapped cheese bake until golden, about 20 minutes.

Now, granted, if you don't like getting your hands dirty, this is not the picnic food for you. We used a knife to slice the cheese into what turned out to be gobs of flaky phyllo and gooey pesto-cheese, and piled the gobs on top of the tomato slices. Pesto oil and tomato juice dripped everywhere, we both had green stains on our hands and mouths, but we also had plenty of napkins (and red wine), and it really was so delicious. I'm sure there's a less messy way to combine all of these flavors, but for this late afternoon picnic, this method turned out just fine.

On this beautiful Friday, I'd like to wish a happy birthday to my brother-in-law. I hope it's this pretty in LA, Jon!

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APPLE PIE FOR DINNER

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Although my sweet tooth has faded with age, I was one of those kids who always wanted to eat dessert first. Whenever my mom baked anything sweet, I begged to lick the bowl. Now, I was no match for my brother David, who many an Easter or Halloween would hoard all the candy and lock himself in the closet, but I always loved dessert.

If you share that passion, then this apple pie recipe is for you. Green apples I love because they can be sweet or savory, and I like them both ways. For this dish, I treated it just like apple pie, except with savory ingredients. For the crust: cheddar cheese and roasted pecans. For the thickener: brown sugar, flour, chili powder, and my ingredient for the week--beer. I layered the apples with garlic and green onions, added the thickener, and topped with cheese. I put the crust on top because I wanted to bake the pie in the oven with the beef that was braising at 325 degrees, and I was afraid the flour wouldn't cook if I put it on the bottom. Next time I'll use the cheese-pecan-flour mixture in the bottom of the pie plate as a crust and bake it for a little while before adding the filling. It was good as a crumble, but not very pretty (I added the apple slices on top just for looks).

The beef wasn't so good. I wanted to try braising because I'd never cooked anything that way, and supposedly, beer works well as a braising liquid. For starters, I bought the wrong cut of meat. Braising is a technique best suited for large, roast-like cuts (so I learned after it was too late), and I bought flank steak. It cooked way too quickly in the pan and just dried out from there. The sauce was tasty, though, so I bet if the beef had been tender, it would have been good. Oh well, maybe next time.

I'll spare you the details of the beef since it wasn't good, but here's the apple recipe; I'll make it again:

Savory Apple Crumble

2 large green apples, sliced thinly

2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

1 green onion, sliced thinly (do you see a pattern? :)

4 ounces white cheddar cheese, shredded

4 ounces sharp (yellow) cheddar, shredded

1 cup roasted pecans

1 T. flour plus 1/4 cup

2 T. brown sugar

1/2 t. salt

1 t. chili powder

2 T. beer

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, combine 2 tablespoons of the yellow cheddar cheese with the pecans and 1 tablespoon of flour. If you want to use this as your crust, mash it with your fingers into the bottom of a pie plate; set aside if using it for topping instead. In a small bowl, mix the beer, chili powder, salt, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup flour. Cover the bottom of a pie plate with sliced apples. Sprinkle with garlic and green onions. Pour beer mixture on top and spread evenly. Cover with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle with topping if making a crumble instead of a pie. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the topping is crisp and brown. Serve with a hearty main dish, like braised beef. Maybe soon I'll have a good recipe for that to give you!

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VARIATIONS ON A THEME

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

After yesterday's beer soup and beer bread, I decided maybe I should continue using beer in my cooking. It seems rather fall-ish to do so; plus, David only buys the non-light kind, which has entirely too many calories to just drink. (As you can tell from my cooking, I like to spend my calories on what counts: food). When I started planning this menu, I thought it would be perfect because Abita, a Louisiana brewery, has just put out a beer called Fleur-de-lis Restoration Ale. One dollar from every six-pack purchase will go to the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, so why not support the cause by using the beer to cook with? Well, I am a little early; the beer isn't on shelves yet. But it will be! And when it is, if you are so inclined, here's almost a week's worth of meals based around the brewed liquid. The Fleur-de-lis is a golden ale, and I used Abita Golden for all of these recipes; the substitution should work just fine. If you can't get your hands on Abita, any medium-bodied golden beer will do.

These sandwiches are a cinch to throw together, and I love the combination of buttery avocado and salty, crunchy bacon. The onion rings take a little more time, and do NOT omit the rising step for the batter; it won't puff properly in the oil if you do. I don't make too many--they don't keep well, and I am inclined to eat as many as I make, all in one sitting. Beware--they are addictive!

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Spicy Beer-Battered Onion Rings

3 medium onions, sliced thickly

Milk

1 cup flour

1 cup beer

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

1 t. chili powder

1/2 t. cumin

Canola or vegetable oil

Seasoned salt

Mix the flour, beer, and spices; let sit for at least an hour. Soak the onions in milk meanwhile. Drain the onions; dry with paper towels. Heat about 2 inches of oil in a saucepan. Dip the onions in the batter, and fry until deep golden brown. They will start to float to the top of the oil when done. Drain on paper towels and season immediately with seasoned salt.

Turkey-Avocado Clubs

Sliced turkey

1 avocado

4 slices bacon

Spinach leaves

White cheddar cheese, sliced

Spicy Beer Bread

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange 4 bread slices on a cookie sheet; top with cheese. Toast until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the bacon. Top with sliced turkey, bacon, avocado slices, and spinach leaves. Makes 2 sandwiches.

AUTUMN CONTINUED

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Since the Paper Chef competition, I have proclaimed the southern Louisiana Autumn officially here. No matter that it got just a teeny bit warmer that is usual for a crisp, cool season today--the air has that fall edge to it now, and I refuse to go back to wearing flip flops and pretending like the season isn't changing.

It is with that spirit that I approached the rest of this week's menu. One of the first meals I love to make when it cools off is a hearty soup with homemade bread. Traditional Wisconsin cheese soup is made any number of ways with varying vegetables and spices, but the key ingredient is good cheddar cheese. I combined that idea with French Onion soup and made some cheesy bread to go with it. I used leftover zucchini in the bread to give it some extra texture, but I'm not going to list that in the recipe because all the zucchini did was make the bread mushy--I won't do that again. The jalapenos were a good choice, though; they give the bread just the right amount of spice and combine with the basil to lend a hint of freshness.

The soup was delicious fall fare--rich and savory and chock full of onions and cheddar cheese. When I was a kid, I spent weeks of the summer at my Aunt Emily's house. She fed me terribly decadent food--Butterfingers by the fistful--and I have this vivid memory of sitting at her kitchen counter with a bowlful of melted cheddar cheese for breakfast. Also as a kid, I loved to order French Onion soup at restaurants because they brought it to you with this huge layer of cheese on top. This soup is my attempt to merge those two memories. It's quick and easy too (back to the daily grind for me, alas!)

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Here are the recipes:

Spicy Beer Bread

This recipe is very similar to the Cheese and Beer Bread in Better Homes and Gardens

2 1/2 cups flour

1 T. sugar

2 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. Kosher salt

1 T. freshly chopped basil leaves

12 ounces beer

6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded

1 or 2 jalapenos, chopped (and seeded if you don't like things too spicy)

Preheat the oven to 375. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl, including the basil. Mix in the beer, cheese, and pepper, and stir until just combined. Pour into a greased bread pan. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the outside is beginning to crisp and brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cheesy French Onion Soup

2 large sweet yellow onions (Vidalia if you can get them), chopped

1 T. butter

1 T. olive oil

Dash cayenne pepper

1/2 t. Kosher salt

14 1/2 ounces chicken broth

12 ounces beer (I used Abita Golden)

Good cheddar cheese, grated

Heat the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions, and cook until brown and tender, about 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and add the liquids. Stir in the cheese (this quantity is really up to you, depending on how cheesy you want your soup. I used about 6 ounces) until it melts. Simmer over low until the bread finishes baking. Ladle into bowls and garnish with a sprinkle of paprika (I was a little heavy-handed with mine, as you can see from the photo!) Happy Fall!

AUTUMN REVERIE

Monday, October 10, 2005

Paper Chef #11: Pecan-Crusted Cinnamon Duck with Gingered Pear-Cherry Compote and Maple Sweet Potato Grits

For this month's Paper Chef competition (the brainchild of Owen at Tomatilla!), an internet version of television's Iron Chef, Stephen at Stephen Cooks asked entrants to compose a dish based around 4 ingredients, centered thematically around fall, my favorite season of the year.

Fall in the South tends to come suddenly, dropping gusts of cool air at the last moment, just when we've given up hope that the daytime temperature will ever drop below 85. Summer lasts so long here that by the time fall finally arrives, even if it dips in and out until Christmas, I am so grateful that I spend every possible moment outdoors. One of the delights of the season in this corner of the world is that the green of summer remains long after the crisp nip in the air drains the hot, heavy humidity of summer. The vegetation in these parts still glistens with life under the more temperate autumn sun, and the combination of the charged zip in the air with the still-warm kiss of the sun puts a sparkling spring in my step and in my hopes for the days to come every single year.

Stephen's call for autumn-inspired cuisine, had it come just a week earlier, would have found me dripping with sweat and wondering if southern Louisiana would ever cool off. Luckily, though, the seasonal drop in temperature came just in the nick of time. It was a lovely 70 degrees when David and I headed out Saturday morning for the Red Stick Market, armed with the ingredient list and our imaginations.

The required ingredients for this month's competition are: DUCK, PEARS, GINGER, AND NUT BUTTER. I grew up in a family of hunters, so wild game appeared frequently in our meals this time of year. My dad usually cooks duck on the grill with cinnamon, and its simplicity is hard to beat. For my creation, I borrowed the cinnamon from him (which I think he might have borrowed from my Aunt Emily), and picked up a pound of pecans from Buddy Miller of Plantation Pecans, both to use for the requisite nut butter component and to add a southern flair to my preparation. Pecan-Crusted Cinnamon Duck Breasts were soon ready to be hatched.

I marinated the breasts overnight in red wine and balsamic vinegar spiced with ginger, cloves, and cinnamon sticks. I made a pecan butter from slow-roasted pecans, cinnamon,  butter, and a little maple syrup, which I lathered onto the duck. Next, I rolled the breasts in chopped pecans and dredged them in flour. To achieve a crispy brown layer on the outside while preserving the tenderness of the meaty inside, I seared the breasts in a skillet for a couple of minutes per side and then finished by roasting them in the oven.

For the sauce and presentation, I wanted to find a way to incorporate the rich autumn hues of red and orange, while using the good fat from the duck to flavor the dish. I decided on a ruby-colored sauce, which I made by simmering the pears in some of the red wine marinade, along with dried red cherries, shallots, and lots of spice. I used that mixture to deglaze the pan after the ducks were finished cooking, which resulted in a sort of rich, saucy compote. To remain true to my southern roots, I served the duck on a bed of grits, colored orange and flavored by whipping them with roasted sweet potatoes and long strands of orange zest. I finished the dish with crispy red onion strings, which served as a nice contrast, both in flavor and texture, to the sweet, soft potato grits.

So how was it? Well, it was fabulous. The combination of flavors and textures--the spiciness of the ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and allspice; the rich buttery subtlety of the roasted pecan butter; the crispy texture of the onions and the duck's crust; the sweetness of the pears and cherries; the savory duck itself with just a hint of wildness--left us reveling in the complexity of every bite. I have to confess--the Sweet Potato Grits were a surprise. I was fully prepared to junk the idea if it turned out to be too strange, but the mixture of the sweet potatoes and grits makes for a light and fluffy compliment to the fuller, stronger flavors in the duck and sauce. The crispy onions were just the right topping.

This is really not my method of cooking--as you who read often know, I usually try to make our meals in an hour or less; I rarely have time to spend coddling and cajoling ingredients to come together over the span of two days. I have to say, though, I loved every minute of it. It was relaxing, almost, to take my time with the food I was making (who knew?!).

David and I set a card table in our backyard, just before the sun went down, and enjoyed the last of our first autumn Sunday by savoring every bite of the delicious flavors of the season.

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Maple Sweet Potato Grits

2 large or 3 medium sweet potatoes

1 cup quick grits

1 t. salt

1/2 t. cinnamon

2 tablespoons pecan butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

Zest of one orange

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roast the sweet potatoes until very soft, about 1 hour. (Prepare the duck and sauce meanwhile). Cool the potatoes, peel, and place in the bowl of a mixer. Prepare the grits according to the package directions. Pour the cooked grits and remaining ingredients into the mixer, and mix until light and fluffy.

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