Cauliflower Gratin

There aren't many vegetables that I don't like, but there are those I tend not to choose (to put it nicely).  Cauliflower is one of those vegetables.  Still, I belong to a CSA, and the dutiful thing is to use all the produce I can, even the items I'm not so crazy about.  When I saw a recipe for Cauliflower Gratin, I thought perhaps I'd found that dish that would win me over.  (I've tried before, but it didn't quite do the job).  After all, it's cheesy and crunchy and creamy - what's not to love?

Well, it is really tasty, I have to say....for cauliflower.  If you like cauliflower already, you are going to *love* this.  If you don't, well, it will make cauliflower a bit more tolerable.  (I'm really selling this, aren't I?)

The crunchy bread crumbs, the melted cheese, and the creamy finish serve as a tasty backdrop to the still-slightly-crunchy cauliflower, the way the major cast members of a gratin are prone to do.  Serve it along with some of your favorite things, and it becomes a nice well-rounded dish.  We had ours with grilled chicken and roasted brussels sprouts.  Yum.

Cauliflower Gratin

adapted from Food Network Magazine

serves 4 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS:

1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets

1/2 cup half & half

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

pinch of salt

1/2 cup shredded cheese (gruyere or mozzarella works)

1/3 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Place the cauliflower florets in a shallow baking dish or casserole.  

2.  Whisk together the half & half, mustard, and salt in a small bowl.  Pour over the cauliflower.  Top with shredded cheese and bread crumbs.

3.  Bake for 45 minutes, or until the cauliflower is easily pierced with a fork but still has a bit of crunch, and the topping is brown and crunchy.  Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Potato, Spinach and Bread Soup

Soup doesn't need to be fancy or complicated to be completely delicious.  This recipe is for an extremely humble soup; the kind of thing you'd imagine would have been considered "peasant" fare in a less enlightened time.

Well, peasant fare or not, it's incredibly tasty, easy to prepare, and comforting as any good soup should be.  There are shockingly few ingredients - most of them are already in the name.  This is definitely a meal in a bowl - you don't even need bread for dunking, as it is already in the soup! 

The flavor profile is simple and familiar, but these elements all together are not entirely obvious.  Give it a try and see.

Potato, Spinach and Bread Soup

adapted from Jack Bishop's Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces

4 1/2 cups vegetable stock

4 cups packed spinach leaves, washed, dried, and coarsely chopped

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 cups cubed (1/2 inch) day-old whole grain baguette

extra virgin olive oil for serving

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Place the potatoes and vegetable stock in a medium soup pot or Dutch oven.  Turn the heat to high and bring to a rapid boil.  Cook for 15 minutes, uncovered.  

2.  Reduce heat slightly (but keep a bubble going) and add the spinach, pressing it down into the liquid gently.  Salt and pepper to taste, then place a lid on the pot and cook for 10 minutes, or until potatoes are falling apart and spinach is tender.

3.  Turn off the heat and stir in the bread cubes.  Cover the pot and let sit for 5 minutes, allowing the bread to soak up some broth.  The soup will be quite thick.

4.  Ladle the soup into bowls and drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil.

Enjoy!

Mocha Cake with Mocha Nutella Frosting

For mother's day, I wanted to make a dessert that felt mother-ish.  Particularly, one that my mother would like.  We also were going to have a group of 18 people, so it had to be something that could stretch for a large group.  First, I thought to do a sheet cake.  Second, I thought chocolate.  Third, coffee.  Voila - Ellie Krieger's mocha cake!

I changed the frosting to a different one I found on Tasty Kitchen because the original recipe called for a cream cheese frosting, and my mother is not a fan.  Instead, I made a Mocha Nutella frosting that was out of this world.  The combination of the moist mocha cake and the sweet nutty frosting was absolutely fantastic.

This one is a crowd pleaser, for sure.  It's tasty, it's pretty, and it's different than your typical chocolate cake.  Make it for your next family gathering!

Mocha Cake with Mocha Nutella Frosting

adapted from The Food You Crave and Tasty Kitchen

makes one 9 x 13 cake

INGREDIENTS:

for the cake:

Cooking spray

1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

1 1/2 cups plain lowfat yogurt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon instant coffee, dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water

2 ounces good quality dark chocolate (60-70% cocoa)

for the frosting:

1 tablespoon nonfat milk, plus more for texture

1 teaspoon instant coffee

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray.  Preheat oven to 350.

2.  Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl.  Set aside.

3.  Whisk together melted butter, canola oil, eggs, and egg whites until well combined.  Fold in the yogurt, vanilla, granulataed sugar, and dissolved instant coffee.  Mel the chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl in the microve for 90 seconds on high (careful not to burn it!)  and stir it into the batter.

4.  Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet, and stir until just incorporated - do not overbeat.  Pour into prepared pan.  Bake until cake has risen nicely and a toothpick comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.  Let cool completely on a rack.

5.  Make the frosting:  dissolve the instant coffee in a tablespoon of milk and set aside.  Beat the butter, Nutella, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla in a bowl with a handheld electric mixer on high.  Add the dissolved coffee and milk and beat well.  Add additional milk as needed to achieve a smooth frosting consistency.  Frost the cake when it has cooled completely.

6.  As a nice added touch, grate a little chocolate on the top for decoration.  Cut into squares and serve.

Enjoy!

Shaved Asparagus with Parmigiano-Reggiano

Did you know you can eat asparagus raw?  I don't know if that necessarily means you'll want to grab a stalk and start gnawing on it, but when you shave it thinly with a vegetable peeler and toss it with a simple lemon vinaigrette, it's pretty divine.  Add parmigiano to the mix, and a bit of sea salt, and you're in business.

This recipe comes from Mario Batali's latest book, and it is a great example of the beauty of simplicity.  When you have excellent produce, you shouldn't mess with it too much.  If you can find a way to eat it raw, all the better. 

Mario includes this in the antipasti section of Molto Gusto, but I think it works great as a salad or a side dish, too.  Try it out and see what you think.  I'll bet you've never had anything quite like it.

Shaved Asparagus with Parmigiano-Reggiano

adapted from Mario Batali's Multo Gusto

serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch medium asparagus, tough ends snapped off

1/4 cup coarsely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon warm water

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

coarse sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Using a vegetable peeler, shave the asparagus into long diagonal shavings.  It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be thin.

2.  Put the cheese in a large bowl and whisk in the lemon juice and warm water.  Whisking constantly, drizzle in the oil slowly to create a loose emulsion.  Add the asparagus and toss everything together.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Shepherds Pie

With mother's day around the corner, I am extra inspired to make dishes that remind me of my mother's cooking.  This is the epitome - shepherds pie made lighter, healthier, and more delicious than you've ever had before.  Most people think of shepherds pie as beef stew topped with mashed potatoes, or something along those lines.  Well it's about to get much more interesting.

This recipe is an adaptation of my mother's.  She always makes it with turkey instead of beef, and adds loads of flavor from a couple of secret ingredients (which, of course, will not be secret for long).  The base is almost like a bolognese with an extra hit of seasoning that you don't quite expect.  The topping is glorious mashed potatoes with the skins left on, and the finishing touch is just a delicate sprinkling of cheese to add that something special.

The primary secret ingredient in this shepherds pie is somewhat controversial.  It's Marmite.  If you're not familiar with Marmite, it is a much-loved and yet much-hated ingredient for the children of British families.  I happen to fall in the love camp, but if you fall into the less-enlightened (in my opinion) hate camp, or you simply don't want to try it, you can use a bit of Worcestershire sauce, or just increase the tomato paste.  Marmite is a vegetarian yeast-based spread, but it lends a beefiness to this shepherds pie that would definitely be missed if you skip it.  You can also use Vegemite, which is the Australian equivalent. 

Shepherds pie, in my family anyway, is the ultimate comfort food.  And it only seems to get better the next day, so definitely make enough to have leftovers.

Shepherds Pie

serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. baby Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and halved

salt

2/3 cup skim milk

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 lb. ground white meat turkey

2 teaspoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons Marmite or Vegemite

1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, mostly drained

2 tablespoons grated mozzarella or white cheddar

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Place the potatoes in a pot and fill with cold water to about one inch above the potatoes.  Salt it.  Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and easily pierced with a fork.  Drain, return to the pot, and add the milk and butter.  Mash the potatoes until smooth.  Salt to taste.

2.  While the potatoes are cooking, heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high.  Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are starting to soften, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and red pepper flakes. 

3.  Add the turkey to the pot and break it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.  Cook, stirring often, until the turkey is no longer pink, about 3 minutes.  Add the tomato paste and Marmite and stir to distribute fairly evenly.  Add the diced tomatoes and a little bit of their juices and stir everything together.  Let cook about 5 more minutes to evaporate some of the moisture.

4.  Preheat the oven to 375.  Transfer the turkey mixture to a 8 x 8 baking dish and top with the mashed potatoes.  Smooth them out to create an even layer.  Sprinkle with the cheese and bake in the preheated oven for 15  minutes, or until the potatoes are starting to get crusty and golden on top.  Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Raspberry Scones

Berry season is well underway.  When I saw that this month's issue of Everyday Food had a whole feature on raspberries, I had to get in on the action. 

These scones are easy.  These scones are flaky and buttery.  These scones are studded with fresh raspberries.  I think that should get you up out of your seat and high-tailing it to the nearest market for fresh berries. 

As with any scone, these make an excellent breakfast pastry, or a nice accompaniment to an afternoon cup of tea.  Or you could just have them for dessert.  Or lunch.  Or a midnight snack.  No one has to know.

And a note:  any time you see buttermilk in a recipe and don't feel like buying it, you can substitute the same amount of milk, and add a squirt of lemon juice or a teaspoon of vinegar, let it sit for about five minutes, and then use it.

Raspberry Scones

adapted from Everyday Food

makes 16

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, plus more for work surface

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 large egg yolk

6 oz. fresh raspberries, washed and gently dried

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.

2.  In a food processor, pulse the flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt to combine.  Add butter and pulse until pea-size pieces form.  

3.  In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk and egg yolk.  Slowly stream in through the feed tube of the food processor and pulse until the dough just comes together.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.

4.  Form the dough into a cohesive piece and flatten into a 1 inch thick square.  Sprinkle the raspberries over the top.  Knead gently, just a few times, to get the raspberries into the dough.  Warning: it will be squishy and messy, and that is okay.

5.  Cut the dough into relatively even pieces - you should easily get 16 fairly small scones.  Place on the prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart and bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through, until golden brown.  Let cool a few minutes.

Enjoy!

Lemon Tarragon Pasta

Sometimes you need something genuinely quick and easy to pull together for dinner.  For instance, when you've just returned from a way-too-long business trip to Dallas, Texas, and you are starving, but have next to nothing left in the fridge because your husband lived off cereal and take-out during your absence. 

Yes, the reason I haven't posted all week is for the above-stated reasons.  And I got home ready to eat just about anything, but not just anything.  I still wanted something wholesome and tasty, something that would say, "Yes, you are home, and you get to eat home-cooked meals again."  So I whipped together the perpetual comfort food: pasta. 

This is based on a pasta dish my mother used to make a lot when I was in high school.  It's simple, flavorful, and definitely hits the spot when you need something quick and filling.  You can make it a side dish alongside chicken and/or veggies, or fish, or you can just make a salad to go with it.  I sauteed some chicken sausage and mushrooms to have with it, and my belly is very happy now.  No more Tex-Mex for me.  (Not that there's anything wrong with that).

You probably already have all the ingredients for this - if you don't have tarragon, you can easily substitute basil (even dried basil if you're really desperate). 

Lemon Tarragon Pasta

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

salt

4 ounces whole grain spaghetti or angel hair

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon

1 teaspoon lemon zest

juice of 1/2 lemon

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt it.  Add the pasta and cook until just al dente, probably about 5-7 minutes depending on the thickness of your pasta.

2.  At the same time that you add the pasta to the water, heat one tablespoon of oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  As soon as it's hot, reduce heat to low and add the garlic.  Cook, stirring, for less than one minute, until fragrant.  Be careful not to burn it.  Add the tarragon and lemon zest, and season lightly with salt.  Cook, stirring, for another minute.  Add lemon juice and stir.

3.  Before draining the pasta, reserve 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.  Drain pasta and return to the pot.  Add the lemon and tarragon mixture and the reserved cooking liquid, and stir well.  Stir in remaining oil and salt to taste.  Serve.

Enjoy!