Sans Electricity

Tuesday, September 6

Tomorrow, I will resume the menu to the left, but for now, I thought I’d share what we cooked on the grill the day our power went out. After a week of watching the harrowing coverage of the tragedy in my two home states, it seems trivial¾to say the least¾to contemplate my own inconvenience of a few day without electricity. Nevertheless, many people found themselves resorting to the grill until their refrigerators and stoves were back in action, so I thought I'd offer this recipe for what we cooked the night we lost our power.

My heart goes out to those who have lost so much, and I can only pray that the recovery efforts will help them begin to put their lives back together. In the meantime, I hope you and your family and loved ones are out of harm’s way. May all of us who have survived count our blessings and remember to reach out to those in need.

The original recipe for this antipasto, which my Aunt Prissy shared with me, comes from Angela Rhemann, a long-time friend of our family who occasionally teaches cooking classes at The Everyday Gourmet in Jackson, Mississippi. If I followed her recipe, I would bake the antipasto in the oven and serve it with crostini, which I am certain makes a divine appetizer. However, I wanted it to serve as a main dish, so I cooked it in a skillet on the grill, and then stuffed it in some grilled portabella mushroom caps and topped it with slices of fresh mozzarella.

Antipasto-stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

1 red bell pepper

1 14-oz. can artichoke hearts, chopped finely

4 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

4 oz. mixed Mediterranean olives, chopped

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup capers

4 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese

4 large portabella mushroom caps

French bread

Over a medium flame, grill the bell pepper until it is charred on all sides. Remove from the grill and place in a shallow bowl; cover with plastic wrap to steam. While it is grilling, remove the stems from the mushroom caps, chop them finely, and mix them with the artichoke hearts, garlic, olives, capers, and olive oil in a flame-resistant skillet. Cover with aluminum foil and cook on the grill for about 20 minutes, or until the garlic is very, very soft (you should almost be able to mash the mixture to a paste). Spray the mushroom caps with cooking spray (I use the canola oil spray) and place gills-up on the grill. Cook until the mushrooms are soft. Remove the mushrooms and fill with antipasto mixture. Place each cap in a foil packet, top with mozzarella slices, and drizzle with olive oil. Cut the French bread in half length-wise, brush it with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and place it face-down on the grill.  Cook until the cheese is melted and the bread is toasty.

Breakfast at Dinner

Monday, August 29

I love breakfast food. Unfortunately, I am not naturally much of a morning person. So, often when I want eggs and muffins, I have to have it at night, instead of in the morning. My mom used to fix omelets and blueberry muffins for dinner, and so serving traditional breakfast foods when it's dark outside reminds me of her. She is much better at flipping omelets and getting them to look pretty than I am; my omelets always end up looking a lot like scrambled eggs with other stuff in them. So, to use up leftovers, I like to make frittatas instead. No flipping, and finishing it under the broiler gives the cheese on top a bubbly brown texture that I really like. This one, inspired by my leftover spinach stuffing from the stuffed tomatoes last week, is quick and easy. You can make a frittata with just about anything. The basic recipe is: sauté some vegetables in a heavy oven-proof skillet, top with beaten eggs and cheese, cook until the eggs begin to set around the edges, top with more cheese, and finish under the broiler. The muffins I made to go with the frittata are sweet and crumbly, as good muffins should be. I made them with sugary, crunchy Asian pears from Miller Farms at the Red Stick Market. The frittata cooks quickly, so I prepare the muffins first, and use the time while the muffins are cooking to chop the vegetables and beat the eggs for the frittata.

Pear-Streusel Muffins

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 T. baking powder

½ t. baking soda

1 t. cinnamon

½ t. allspice

2 large eggs

½ stick butter, melted

1 cup buttermilk

1 ½ cups chopped pear

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Beat together the eggs, butter, and buttermilk. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry; stir until just combined. Add the chopped pears and stir to distribute evenly. Spoon the batter into a greased muffin tin.

For topping:

1 cup chopped walnuts; reserve half to sprinkle on the tops

4 T. flour

4 T. brown sugar

½ stick butter, softened

½ t. cinnamon

Mix all together with your hands until it forms a paste. Top the muffin batter with the streusel topping, and then sprinkle on the reserved walnuts. Bake for about 20 minutes, until the topping is brown and crumbly.

While the muffins are cooking, you can prep your vegetables and get everything ready for the frittata. When the muffins are done, turn the broiler on to preheat.

Spinach-Mushroom Frittata

1 clove garlic, minced

½ yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

2-3 T. leftover spinach filling

1 cup fresh spinach leaves, chopped

4 eggs

½ cup milk

½ cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 cup mild grated cheese of your choice (Swiss, mozzarella, Monterey Jack, etc.)

Sauté the garlic, onion, and mushrooms over medium-high heat in an oven-proof skillet (I use a cast-iron one) until tender, about 6 minutes. Stir frequently to make sure garlic doesn’t burn. Add the spinach filling and stir to coat the vegetables; cook another minute or two. Turn the heat down to medium-low, and add the spinach leaves, cooking until wilted. Meanwhile, beat the eggs, milk, and feta cheese together; pour over mushrooms and spinach. Salt and pepper well, but don’t stir. Let the eggs cook slowly until the edges begin to set, about 12-15 minutes. Grate cheese on top, and finish under the broiler; watch carefully, as it only takes a minute or two.

One of the great things about this meal is that leftovers can be enjoyed both in the morning and at night! I like to have the muffins with my afternoon coffee, as well.