Green bean salads are a regular around my house in the summertime when we’re having outdoor dinners. They’re a make-ahead item, and if you can find really good green beans, well, you’ll have a real winner of a side dish.

Usually I try to get those baby green beans, haricots verts, but in this case it was regular organic green beans that my DH found when he was shopping for me. I’d read the recipe over at Food52, and this was one of the contest winners last year. I simmered them in boiling water – well, simmering water until just done, drained them and got everything else ready to go. Marjoram isn’t something I have in my pantry or in the garden, so I substituted tarragon, which I do have in my garden. Not very big of a plant, but tarragon is a strong flavor anyway, so I only needed about 1/2 teaspoon or so of chopped tarragon.

Because I like onion but I don’t like raw onion at all, I always use that trick of soaking the onion in acidulated water (a tetch of vinegar in with water) for about 15 minutes. It takes that harsh edge off the raw onion. I sweetened the dressing with agave and poured it over the salad just before serving. Green beans make a great color item on the dinner plate too. It was a lovely salad to accompany some grilled pork chops. I liked making something other than our all-time favorite, the garlic green beans that I turn to at least a dozen times a year because they’re so easy and SO good. But this recipe was really good too.

What I liked: that I could make it ahead and just toss it before serving. Liked the pretty color addition of the red onion and Feta cheese – the color contrasts were very pretty. Actually, I thought with the lemon juice in it the green beans would turn gray after a day, but they didn’t. Enjoyed the left overs just as much as the first time. An easy side dish to make – do soak the onion if you can allow time for that. Definitely a keeper.

What I didn’t like: gosh, nothing. Loved all of it. Worth making.

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If I tell you that this or the traditional zucchini style calabacitas is one of my very favorite side dishes, you’d believe me, right? I don’t say those things often. And indeed this dish was so good I swear I could just eat that for dinner.

As I’m writing this up, it’s an hour or so after dinner, and I just had some of that dish, and my mouth is watering even now as I look at the photo. Even though I’m full and don’t want any more food. But just remembering the slightly bitter taste of the poblano chile, and the corn. And the mushrooms. Oh my goodness. It is SO delicious. I think I could eat calabacitas once a week all year ‘round. But I like it with fresh corn, and that’s not always possible. We bought fresh corn the other day, 3 ears for $1, which was a really good deal. It was fresh and tasty. I’d intended to buy some green zucchini, but the market we visited only had yellow zucchini (not crookneck) and the light green bulb type zucchini. I didn’t want either of those. But I did have some mushrooms in the refrigerator, so I decided to substitute, and I used the basic calabacitas con crema recipe as my guide. Took no time at all to make – just had to cut up the mushrooms, shuck the corn, chop the poblano and onion. Grind a bit of dried thyme between my palms (I love thyme, so I used lots), and lastly a few tablespoons of cream, salt and pepper and it’s done.

Going online I looked up the word calabacitas and discovered that it means little squash. So, technically this dish isn’t calabacitas. Another website said it just means mixed vegetables, and yes, it is that. So I hope any Spanish-speaking readers will forgive my using the word incorrectly, if I am. As I tasted it tonight I rolled the ingredients around in my mouth and decided that it’s the poblano chile that makes this – it has a distinct flavor – on the edge of bitter – but it’s nothing like a green bell pepper. I don’t know what it is about the poblano that makes it different. Gives the dish an edge somehow. So if you’ve never made calabacitas, and you like all of the ingredients in this – you’ve just got to make it. Either this one or my original one (link is just below the photo) you’ll also find on my blog.

What I liked: how do I love you, calabacitas? Let me count the ways: corn, mushrooms, poblano chile, thyme, gosh – all of it. Let’s have another date next week, okay?

What I didn’t like: abso-posi-tutely nothing, as my dad used to say.

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Aren’t those just the most beautiful things ever? Of course, the green plate with the purple artichokes are favorite colors  of mine anyway. When I began the setup for the photo I immediately grabbed my yellow-green plate, knowing the green would just make those babies pop. I didn’t alter a single thing in the photograph except resize it for the web.

Now, here’s a photo of the finished dish – sautéed artichokes with green onions, garlic, parsley, white wine, lemon zest. What’s there not to like about that combo?

A few weeks ago the folks at Freida’s Produce contacted me, as they do now and then, to ask if I’d like to try a new artichoke variety just coming available (at Ralph’s, April 25th through May 6th in case you want to find these). Since I love artichokes I said yes-yes-yes! In the post came a little box with 2 globe type artichokes (one red and one purple) and a 1-pound bag of baby artichokes, these little Baby Purple Fiesoles. If you’d like to learn more about them, click over to Freida’s artichoke page.

Turning to Deborah Madison’s cookbook, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, she has one recipe for baby artichokes and it was quite easy. First I trimmed up the artichokes, cutting off the tops (about 1/3 to 1/2 inch), trimming the base some, and removing the outer leaves – at least one full layer or two. More of the artichoke will be edible that way, although you can’t really eat it all. But the choke is invisible and the bottom 2/3 of each baby artichoke was edible.

There the photo of the little plastic bag and the artichokes cut in half (raw). Deborah’s recipe has you steam the artichokes whole, but I cut them in half as those were the instructions on the Freida’s bag.  If you want to prevent them from turning brown on the edges, drop the halves into acidulated water (water and lemon juice).  Anyway, I steamed them for about 10 minutes (Madison’s recipe indicated 6-8 minutes as whole ones). They were drained and cooled, while I prepped the other ingredients and the rest of our dinner.

When I was minutes away from serving our salmon and salad, I heated olive oil in a large, wide frying pan, added the artichokes (cut side down so you’d see the browned edges) and cooked them over moderately high heat for about 4 minutes until they’d taken on some color. Then I turned them over and added half of the gremolata (chopped parsley, fresh garlic and lemon zest) to the pan. Then I added some white wine (I used vermouth). Once that simmered off, water is added and the pan is covered for a short time to finish cooking. This step wouldn’t be needed if you’d cooked the artichokes completely. Mine were nearly done, so I only cooked them about 2-3 minutes.

I drizzled some lemon juice over them all, and added the last of the gremolata. And actually, I did something else with them – – I had some salad dressing out to mix with the sliced tomatoes we were eating, and I drizzled just a little bit of the dressing over the artichokes. In case you want to do that last step, make my Garlic VIP Dressing  to replicate it. I’ve not included that in the recipe below. When you eat these you just put the stem/bottom end in your mouth, about 2/3 of the way up each artichoke, bite down and draw it out. You’ll get one nice mouthful of deliciousness!

What I liked: well, the artichokes themselves were wonderful. Pretty too. Easy to prep. Relatively quick to steam and sauté. Definitely a do-again recipe.

What I didn’t like: nothing, really. These aren’t the easiest things to eat – you need to use your hands, and they’ll get a bit greasy. Have out a bowl to toss the inedible parts, and give each diner a second napkin for wiping hands!

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Not exactly typical scalloped potatoes – not in the least. This one has sautéed poblano chile strips, corn, cheese, and thinly sliced potatoes (of course). Layered in a casserole and baked for about an hour, it’s a delicious side dish for some grilled meat. The dark strips in this are the poblano peppers which take on a very dark brown hue with the cheese on top.

For a dinner party recently, I wanted to make some different kind of potato casserole. I was ready for some new tastes somehow. Looking at my to-try file I found this recipe I’d clipped out of Bon Appetit a couple of years ago. I read the comments and changed the recipe a little bit – I added more corn, more cheese and more poblano chiles. Also, I increased the salt slightly, and pepper, and the half and half. It calls for just 1 1/3 pounds of potatoes (that was about 4-5 Gold-type potatoes). Not all that many considering it serves 8. But then it has the corn and chiles in it too.

There at left are the poblano peppers (also sometimes called pasilla) – I sliced them much thinner than shown here – they needed to be 2” x 1/4 inch strips. I sautéed them in a frying pan briefly – I think that’s done to make sure they’re cooked through during the baking process.

The thinly sliced potatoes are layered in a large casserole dish (make sure it has much higher sides than you think as these kinds of potatoes often bubble over during baking) along with the corn (I used Trader Joe’s fire-roasted frozen ones plus a bit from a fresh ear of corn), cheese and chiles. The original recipe called for Oaxacan cheese – I have no idea what that is. Or it suggested whole milk mozzarella. I didn’t have that either, so decided to use a combination of Monterey Jack and Fontina – both good melting cheeses. The half and half mixture (with salt and pepper) is poured in on top and some cheese is reserved for later. It was covered in foil and baked for 30 minutes. Then I removed the foil, added the reserved cheese and it baked another 25 minutes or so. I tested it and found it needed a little longer in the oven. About another 15 minutes and it was done. It sat out on my kitchen counter for at least 20-30 minutes before it was served (our pork roast took longer than I thought it would) and it was still piping hot.

What I liked: the combo of flavors – the poblanos add a stringent taste, as peppers do. Corn added some nice color and texture. Loved the cheese. DO not under-salt this dish – potatoes need a lot of salt, if you haven’t noticed. A very nice company casserole.

What I didn’t like: gosh, nothing really. I thought the leftovers were even better than the first serving of these. I’d make this again. Probably add more cheese.

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Just bright flavors in this carrot slaw – raw, grated carrots, toasted nuts, some minced dried cranberries, and a very fragrant Moroccan spice mix along with some lemon juice, apple juice and a little jot of olive oil. Very healthy, but don’t tell anybody – they’ll never know.

When I made this for dinner the other night (served it with a garlic sausage and cranberry mustard) my DH sighed and said “mmmm.” A good sign. I knew I liked it because I sampled it as I was making it, but I wasn’t sure he’d like it as much. The cumin and coriander seeds definitely give it an African slant. We both had seconds. And since the entire recipe (makes about 3 1/2 cups total, to serve about 4 people) had 1 tablespoon of olive oil – well, it’s very healthy too. I can’t wait to have leftovers – for dinner tonight, thank you.

According to my notes, this recipe came from Vegetarian Times. I think it came to my inbox because once upon a time I subscribed to their email newsletter. In any case, it’s an easy recipe to make. I happened to have some toasted walnuts from a couple of days before, so I didn’t have to toast them. I also had some toasted pine nuts, so they were tossed in there too. Probably when we eat the leftovers, the nuts will be soft – so if you want to, just sprinkle the nuts on each serving – in the event you know you’ll have leftovers.

What I liked: the overall flavors – the combination is just so good. Healthy and light – bright flavors altogether.

What I didn’t like: just one minor thing – I didn’t love crunching on the whole coriander seeds, so next time I might use ground coriander instead. The cumin seeds were fine, just not the coriander. Definitely I’ll make this again, though.

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The name isn’t mine – it came from Food52.com, from their contest last year. Fresh asparagus, pancetta (I used speck), leeks (I used shallots), orange and lemon zest, toasted pine nuts. Delish.

A couple of weeks ago we visited one of our favorite restaurants here in Orange County – Lucca. A very authentic, upscale Italian eatery in nearby Irvine. I can’t believe I haven’t written up the restaurant here on my blog, since we like it so much. Well, I’ll take photos next time we go there and write something about it then.

It was there that I ended up buying 4 ounces of both speck and a delicious domestic prosciutto. We sampled the imported prosciutto but it was very, very salty. Too much so for my tastes. So the speck won out. What is speck? It is a smoked prosciutto, from the Tyrol region of Italy (near or on the Austrian border). Until just a couple of years ago the FDA wouldn’t allow it to be imported. Period. This I learned from Joanne Weir, in one of the cooking classes she taught, when she talked about how much she loved cooking with speck and lardo. And I’d never had it until I sampled it at this Italian restaurant. What was really interesting, though, is that there are now U.S. producers making speck. So hooray. We don’t have to pay the import prices!

We entertained a large group of friends for dinner one night a couple of weeks ago, and I decided at the last minute to buy some really good-looking asparagus. I didn’t have a recipe with me when I saw the asparagus at the market, so ended up improvising with what I had on hand. This recipe was one I wanted to try anyway – from the cooking contest held by Food52 in 2011. I have two favorite asparagus recipes (Roasted Asparagus with Chile Butter and Crumbled Asparagus), but I make them several times each season and wanted to try something different. Hence I substituted shallots (for the leeks) and speck (for the pancetta). I used a whole lot less shallots than you’d use leeks, and the speck probably gave this dish a totally different flavor (from the smoky flavor). Nevertheless, it was tasty. I got everything done ahead of time, so all I had to do was cook the asparagus and add in the shallots, garlic (lots), orange and lemon zest and Italian parsley. I sprinkled the toasted pine nuts (also done ahead) on top just because it looks more attractive, I think. I am going to try this dish again with the leeks and pancetta. Below is the recipe exactly as written at Food52. My substitutions are in parentheses.

What I liked: the mixture of flavors – and textures. A great way to fix asparagus. Really liked the citrus zest in the dish.

What I didn’t like: With my slight alternations to the recipe, I’m not so sure speck is the right thing for asparagus, so as I mentioned, I’ll try it with pancetta next time. I think the smokiness of the meat overshadowed the subtle flavors in asparagus. It was still very good, though.

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This time of year there isn’t all that much variety in fresh vegetables. We went to our local farmer’s market the other day and about all I saw was broccoli, cauliflower, kale and Swiss chard, cabbage and potatoes. Well, there were salad vegetables of many varieties (including some cute little baby turnips that the produce guy told me I should use like fresh radishes, which I did). Asparagus has begun to show up, but it’s early days for that treat, and most of the stalks available are pencil thin. Not the kind I prefer to buy, and they were really expensive too. So I bought cauliflower and broccoli.

But I needed a new way to make cauliflower, so I did a little search around and found a roasted version using thick planks, or slices (including the root end to hold it together). I google searched for “cauliflower slices” and a recipe from the Seattle Times matched up with my idea of what it should be – roasted at high heat and seasoned with oil and balsamic vinegar, plus a bit of butter. And some thyme. It was altogether easy to make – it cooked completely in my little Breville Smart Oven that my DH bought me for Christmas. What a fun tool that’s been for heating small things, broiling things and in this case roasting a small pan of cauliflower. Would you believe me if I told you that I’ve not owned a toaster oven before? So far, I’m loving it.

So, you have to slice the head – remove any of those leafy tendrils and then slice 1/2 inch planks, leaving the root on to hold the pieces together. Meanwhile, heat your oven, or toaster oven if you have one that can accommodate this, to 400°. I lined my tray with foil (for easy cleanup) then added the butter, along with the oil and balsamic – heat in the oven while you slice up the cauliflower. Dip the slices into the mixture, bake for 15 minutes, turn them over and bake another 10 and they’re done. If you happen to have some fresh thyme in your garden, sprinkle that on top. I didn’t so I sprinkled a bit of dried thyme instead. It was fork-tender and just really tasty.

What I liked: how easy it was to make and how quick it was to bake. My little toaster oven heated up in about 5 minutes, and then it bakes for a total of 25 minutes. Definitely I’d make it again.

What I didn’t like: nada, nothing. Next time I might try to use fresh thyme if I have it, but that’s a very minor detail. I can’t say that it looks all that pretty, but cauliflower is what it is – kinda bland looking no matter what you do to it or with it.The balsamic gives it a roasted color at least.

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Check out the steam wafting up from those little grilling babies? An easy side dish for a weeknight meal, or for guests – although you will want to do the grilling at the last minute if at all possible.

Another winner of a recipe from Food52. And it was a winner of a contest at the website for the best Brussels sprouts recipe. Yes, they’re delicious. I know – the food blog police are going to come after me for over-using the word delicious. I need to write down a bunch of other adverbs to help me describe the taste of things. Let’s see . . . salty, succulent, good texture, bright with flavor . . . how’s that? They were all those thing as well.

First you simmer the whole Brussels in water (with a tiny slit in the root end) for exactly 5 minutes. Not a moment longer. Why? Because after they drain and cool, you’re going to grill them for awhile to get all that good blackened flavor all over them – and they cook sufficiently more on the grill. A bit of olive oil goes all over them, then they’re rolled or tossed in a simple mixture of pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, celery salt. You might be tempted to cut the sprouts in half, but don’t. They’ll take up too much room on the grill (well, at least they would on my indoor grill you see above in the photo) and they might fall apart more readily. So control the urge and just grill them whole. Takes about 12 minutes or so and then you sprinkle them with your choice of additions – lemon zest (yes, I did that one), Parmesan cheese (I did that one too, but most of it didn’t cling to the sprouts so what was the sense of wasting the cheese?) and/or bacon (I opted not to add this one). If you have any of the seasoning mixture you can toss the sprouts in that again after grilling them. I didn’t have any so they were ready to serve. There were 4 of us for dinner that night, and everyone slicked the plates clean. I’ll be making these again.

What I liked: how easy they were, and the seasoning mixture that clings to the outside edges. Oh, and the blackened pieces were so good! Definitely worth making.

What I didn’t like: well, the only thing I’ll mention is that I thought they were too salty. The original recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. With the addition of celery salt too, I thought it was too much. Next time I’ll leave out the kosher salt and see how it tastes. I’ve made a note of it in the recipe. But I’m sensitive to salt in lots of things. No one else at the table noticed.

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Oh, did I love this Polish rendition of braised cabbage! Nothing complicated – red onion, red cabbage, apples and a bunch of little things (including lemon juice, ketchup and brown sugar) to give it some zesty flavor. It needs to simmer, very slowly, for at least 2 hours, so do plan ahead, but it takes little time to put it together.

The recipe came from a new cookbook, one I put on my Amazon wish list a month or so ago, and one of my daughters bought it for me for Christmas. It was a really nice surprise to open the package. I’ve written a separate post about the cookbook, that gives a lengthy overview of the recipes, the stories and why you should buy Recipes Remembered: A Celebration of Survival.

So far, I’ve read about half the book. Each person remembered in the book is/was a survivor of the Holocaust. Their stories are so humbling to me. As a preface to each recipe or small group of recipes is a story about the person(s), interviewed directly, or written by adult children of the survivor(s). About how they escaped the death camps, how they met a spouse, about the DP camps in Italy, for instance. About how they managed the hard-scrabble life hiding in the depth of forests in Germany or Poland. As I sit here in my warm, comfortable kitchen, it’s hard for me to comprehend the horrors these Jewish families lived through.

This recipe was one I flagged right away, and it honors Helen Ptashnik (and her husband Henry Ptashnik) both from Stopnits (Stopnica), Poland. Their daughter tells the story about how they met in Israel at the end of the war. And about how Henry and his brother, as carpenters in one of the concentration camps, built a small hideaway in the barracks to hide some of the ill prisoners. Being ill and unable to work usually dealt a death sentence. The two brothers saved many lives. The Ptashniks actually met in Israel awhile after the war ended, and eventually emigrated to North America (I don’t know if they moved to Canada or the United States).

The Ptashnik’s daughter Meira Fleisch grew up with strong memories of this red cabbage side dish which graced many a holiday dining table. It’s a great recipe. And I’ve certainly made numerous renditions of braised cabbage over the years, but this one tops my list. There is nothing fancy or elegant about the dish – it’s just wonderful comfort food at its finest. It’s the additions that make it so good (honey, ketchup, brown sugar, tomato sauce, lemon juice). No doubt about it. And maybe it’s the long, slow cooking. It requires about 2 hours of very slow simmering. I was concerned that the cabbage would burn, but it didn’t. I used one of my Le Creuset Enameled Round Pots just because I knew it was going to sit on the stovetop for a long time. I did add just a little tiny bit of water about an hour into the cooking time. Make sure you put it on a very slow simmer setting. You could also bake this too – in a very low temp oven.

One of the interesting nugget of information I got from this cookbook is that many recipes of this era, from Holocaust survivors include ketchup. Why? Because it was something they had. Many food items these strong souls didn’t have, but ketchup was available. So it’s often included in recipes where you might think it odd.

What I liked: the subtle, mellow flavors of it all. I could have eaten an entire plate of it and forgotten the delicious Italian sausage I served alongside it. It was that good. Although the different ingredients (cabbage, onions and apples) are still visible, they all meld into one very flavorful whole. Also note that the dish, to serve 8-9 has just 2 T. of oil in it. You might be able to do it with less, even. So, very  healthy!

What I didn’t like: it’s not exactly the most beautiful of dishes – yes, it’s a purple cabbage color, but once it cooks awhile nearly every vegetable loses its vibrant color. Can’t be helped. So worth it, though.

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You know, of course, that we Americans, and particularly people from the American South, must eat black eyed peas on New Years’ Day, because it guarantees good luck in the new year. I had hoped to find some fresh black eyed peas, but alas, they’re very hard to come by in California. Perhaps they’re available everywhere in the South. Most years I haven’t paid much attention to the tradition, but I decided we needed to guarantee it for 2012! Instead of making hoppin’ John, a hot black eyed pea dish, I decided to make a cold salad. I went to Eat Your Books to see what recipes I had on my own bookshelves, and immediately went to Deborah Madison’s vegetarian cookbook, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Even though I mostly followed Deborah Madison’s recipe, I made a couple of deviations. I added a slice of bacon to the beans as they were simmering to tenderness, but that’s optional. And fished it out once they were cooked since it was soggy. The bacon added some nice smoky flavor to the beans. Once drained I added in the tomato, feta, green onions, parsley and oregano. The dressing is a lemony one, and this is where I deviated. I did use lemon juice (our winter crop is in full swing right now), but I added twice as much lemon juice as called for. Beans just love acid. I learned this many years ago when making one of my favorites – and I didn’t name this salad – Paul Prudhomme did – it’s called The Best Bean Salad. In that salad (also a cold bean salad) you add a whole LOT of apple cider vinegar. In the write-up about the recipe Paul even said it’s not a typo, yes, it’s almost all vinegar and he explained something about the chemistry involved – beans have a natural affinity to acid – they soak it up and mellow it. That bean salad is so low in fat it’s almost non-existent. So, I knew it would work in this recipe as well. That’s why I added twice as much lemon juice, since I knew it would be fine, and it was. It also gives the salad a piquant taste.

If at all possible, let this salad chill overnight. If you can’t, then at least give it 4-6 hours. That gives the lemon juice time to be absorbed by the beans. The flavors do mingle so much better with time to sit.

What I liked: If you like bean salads, you’ll like everything about this. Not hard. Makes a bunch. If you cut down on the oil (which you probably could do easily enough) it could be low in fat too. The little bit of crunch (green onions) is good. I might even add some red bell pepper to it as well. Since I love feta cheese, it was a good addition.

What I didn’t like: not much, other than the chore of having to soak the beans overnight, and the hour or two of cooking (and cooling) them before you start making the salad. But nothing about it is hard, so I’m not complaining! It also makes a LOT – people don’t take huge portions of a bean salad, unless it’s the only thing they’re eating.

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