Although I don’t eat or prepare potato casseroles very often, when I do, I fall in lo-v-e with potatoes, again, every time. Not that I ever fell out of l-o-v-e with them, but because we now know they’re a high glycemic carb, and because I don’t work out vigorously enough or often enough, or have a svelte figure that can afford the carbs, when I do eat them they’re extraordinarily special. As with this casserole. And these, with a delicious Béchamel sauce to bind them together with the not-overwhelming goat cheese in between – well, what else can I tell you other than this dish is just sublime. The panko crumb topping was also a good texture foil – don’t eliminate that part to save time. Given the choice, I could easily have eaten this dish as an entire dinner. You’ll be tempted too, I guarantee!

The recipe (and the photo above that I snapped) came from a cooking class I went to last week. The first class I attened was taught by Carissa Giacalone, a TV Food Network Star finalist, and a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu. She obviously knows her French preparations, this being one. What I learned at the class was that the potatoes, as for any scalloped potato casserole, should be parboiled before assembling. I’ve never known any other way but layering raw potatoes and never knowing for sure when the potatoes are done. Now I know why. She peeled and sliced the potatoes first, then put them in a huge pot of water and cooked them until they were half cooked. Once drained, they were set aside while the rest of the prep occurred. A traditional Béchamel sauce, some goat cheese, some caramelized onions and a panko topping, and a dreamy dish you have made.

Every single solitary morsel and calorie is worth it. Try it you should, then plan to take a good healthy walk the next day!
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Files: MasterCook 5+ and MasterCook 14 (click link to open MC – 14 contains photo)

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At the cooking class the other day, I glanced at the list of recipes and certainly didn’t think this one would be the standout of both classes, but it was. It isn’t all that unusual, there isn’t a long list of ingredients and it didn’t take all that long to make. Aren’t those the best kind of recipes to get and make? Easy, quick and yummy delicious to boot!

Although the recipe, by Phillis Carey, is made here for shrimp, it could also be made with scallops (with some bacon added, she suggested). I’ll be making this soon because the flavor was just melt-in-the-mouth. The orzo was smooth and slippery, there was just enough creaminess to make you think you were eating the rice-style risotto, and the broccolini was a perfect side. You can make the orzo ahead, and then it’s just a matter of roasting the veg and combining the rest and you’re done. Definitely make more than needed, as you’ll crave the leftovers.
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A few weeks ago I was watching Martha when she had several famous New York chefs on the show. Seems like they all made fish of some kind, and this particular recipe just sounded interesting. Since Fall is in the air, a more hearty meal piqued my curiosity. The recipe is from Chef Daniel Boulud, certainly one of the pre-eminent chefs out there today. His method is more French than anything else. This recipe isn’t for a night when you’re trying to get dinner on the table in a hurry. It would be more appropriate for guests or a special evening at home. I have changed the recipe just a little. Originally it served 6. I cut it down to serve 2 (shown below). I couldn’t find salsify at the market, so I substituted parsnips. I hadn’t fixed celery root in years, but most markets here in California carry it regularly. I love the subtle taste of celery in this root vegetable.

So, here’s the gist of the recipe. First you make the wine and port sauce. It boils down to next to nothing (I actually left the shallot in the sauce, and I forgot to add the peppercorns altogether). Meanwhile, you peel and cube the celery root. Be sure to use a sturdy peeler if you have one. A light-weight one probably couldn’t pull the heavy peel off. Dig out any eyes and remove most of the very dark swirly parts (the part that’s actually the peel) by just peeling an additional layer or two. Cut into cubes and then you poach the root in milk to which you’ve added some seasonings. That takes about 20 minutes. I pureed it in the food processor (the actual recipe has more steps) and didn’t use all the milk, but just about.

The fish is fairly straight forward – you place some fresh sage leaves (from my garden) on the salmon fillets, then top them with one or two slices of bacon. I wanted to use one slice rather than two, but use your own judgment. It will be harder to turn the salmon if you lay the bacon on top (as I did) rather than wrapping two slices around the middle (so the bacon will stick to itself where the ends meet). I actually baked my salmon in the oven, but the done-ness was much harder to judge (it was overcooked, even though I used a thermometer), so I recommend you stick to the recipe below pan sautéing it.

The results: Absolutely delicious. The celery root puree with its moderately subtle celery flavor was a great pairing with the hearty salmon. The SAUCE is what makes it, though. I wish I’d made more. You want to take each bite that includes a bit of the celery root, salmon, bacon and sauce.
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My DH went to a football game a week ago Sunday. The Chargers, in San Diego. He had a great time with the guys, all family. Initially, though, the group met in the parking lot for a lunchtime tailgate party. Dave didn’t have to bring a thing. There was food galore, of course. And early-on he spotted a big container of pickled carrots. His heart raced a little bit. Hmmm. Maybe carrots like the recipe we’ve been coveting but can’t get. It looked like them – with onions, garlic and jalapeno chiles swimming in the pickling liquid. We’ve wanted the recipe for the home made pickled carrots at our neighborhood Mexican restaurant, Jalapeno’s. They won’t tell anybody anything about the prized family recipe. Even the local paper asked and was refused.

So, Dave tasted. Wow. They were great. He started asking around – who made these carrots? Finally found him – Doug – he’s made them himself for over 30 years. Didn’t remember where he got the recipe. But he gladly shared it with Dave.

The second thing Dave told me when he got home was, “I think I’ve got the recipe for Jalapeno’s carrots!” (The first thing was the abysmal score.) He knew I’d be delighted to hear about the carrots. Indeed. As Dave rattled off the brief recipe, I quickly jotted it down. Dave went out and got the ingredients earlier in the week, but I wanted him to help me make them – just in case he had forgotten anything about the recipe. Sure enough, he forgot the sugar, so that was added. And, salt wasn’t mentioned, so I added that in myself.

Are they good? Absolutely they are. I’m going to tweak the recipe a little bit next time we make them – less of the jalapeno pickling liquid (I like heat, but these were too hot for my taste) – probably more sugar. But the method will be identical. We did learn that slicing the carrots a consistent depth is important (we used the mandoline for most of them) – I’m only guessing at the ¼ inch thickness. Doug sliced them lengthwise in planks. Jalapeno’s slices them in coins. Take your pick!

Here’s how they’re made: you parboil the carrots and onions. Don’t overcook them, though. Then you combine them with some of the juice from a can of pickled jalapenos. Just the juice. And maybe one or two of the pickled jalapenos themselves. And garlic. And Mexican oregano. Now Doug told Dave that buying Mexican oregano was the secret to the brine. Nothing else will do. And not to EVER be tempted to try Greek or Italian or any other type of oregano. Mexican oregano has a different aroma, and it usually includes lots of the flower pods too. Dave had to try two or three stores to find it the other day. Nearly a quart of white vinegar is added, and some water. You refrigerate it overnight, then serve. Whoopee! You’ll find notes in the recipe below about the changes I’ll make the next time I make these. Doug’s recipe was rather loosely verbalized, so we’ll tweak it as we go. And yes, we’ll make them again! Doug did remind us that the jalapenos vary (just as they do when fresh) – sometimes they’re hotter than others – so naturally the pickling liquid can be hotter one time than another. So unless you really love heat, use less rather than more until you test your tongue!
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When I saw this roast chicken being prepared on Martha’s TV show the other day, it just made my mouth water. Usually a sign that I need to cook that dish. Roast chicken is so easy. And it was. The recipe comes from Jean-Georges Vonderichten, the famous chef. Martha was rapturous about the potatoes, but I thought the chicken was pretty good too. Not off the charts unusual, but it was very good. I’m always willing to try some new method of chicken, aren’t you?

What’s different about this chicken is that it’s laid on top of a bed of chunked-up peeled potatoes. The bird is put on her side. And she’s stuffed with half of a HEAD of garlic, some fresh herbs, the chicken liver, and she’s baked high – 450 – for about an hour or more. She gets turned on her other side after 20 minutes, then laid onto her back for the final roasting. She’s golden brown by that time (not surprising at that temp). The meat – including the breast meat – was succulent and moist. That’s always my test of a good roast chicken. And the potatoes. Well, what can I say. They were delicious but not memorable, but then most vegetables rolled around with butter, oil and the fat from a chicken will become nicely browned and delicious too.

Following the recipe was easy – there’s not that much to it – potatoes, some oil and butter, and the stuffed chicken. I put about 2 T. oil and butter in the roasting pan for the potatoes, and I slathered a bit of oil on the bird (no butter). I just couldn’t quite bring myself to use more than that.
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Do you have a bunch of basil plants nearing their wilting end? I never know what to do with copious amounts of basil, except for pesto, so here’s your chance. Read on . . .

It’s only been a month or so that I’ve been Tivo-ing Martha Stewart’s TV show. Considering all the problems she’s had over the last several years, her short prison sentence, losing her job as CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Martha perseveres. And that woman’s got talent, I must say. Sometimes she stumbles a bit (whether it’s from the teleprompter or just forgetting her lines I don’t know), over one thing or another, but she has managed to get a whole lot of chefs to come on her show. Not so many Hollywood stars or starlets (although she gets a fair number of those too). They’ve been doing re-runs over the summer, I guess, but likely they chose the best shows to run again.

So, one day this week she had several French chefs on board, all cooking in her roomy back kitchen, and one by one they came out to the front kitchen to cook with Martha. Another thing Martha has is lots of kitchen skills. So I have to laugh when she takes the sous-chef role and the chefs tell her what to do. My guess is Martha’s got a lot of management skills too. Seems to me I read that while she was in prison she wrote notebook after notebook of ideas for her houses and the tv/radio shows. Most likely Martha’s got those kind of brain cells that just work in overdrive. I used to read her blog, but got overloaded on composts and crafts. Some of her photos were interesting, though. Now, somebody else is CEO of Martha’s company. I continue to wonder (wish I could be a little fly in the board room) how the board and CEO share the helm with Martha’s commanding presence in the background. The shareholders wanted her ousted after she was under suspicion. Maybe one day she’ll be promoted back to CEO.

But, I digressed there. Two of the chefs on the show did chicken and one did salmon. I printed out two of those, and also this spinach and basil side dish that sounded so different. You know me, if you put some food items together that don’t traditionally go together, I’m intrigued. As I was with this recipe. Tomorrow I’ll post the recipe for the chicken. Both of these recipes are from Jean-Georges Vonderichten, the rather famous chef of about 17 restaurants worldwide (notably New York and Las Vegas). He was born in the Alsace (the German edge of eastern France) and started cooking at a young age.

Confession time: I made a whole bunch of changes to this recipe, but it was really delicious. And yes, I’ll make it again. It’s easy – and you could do this for a company meal since you can get everything ready ahead of time (except chopping the basil). It doesn’t take but a few minutes to cook. I will indicate my changes in the recipe, but I’ll give you the chef’s recipe as it was shown.

This calls for equal quantities of spinach and basil. You might think that putting that much basil with a vegetable would overwhelm, but it didn’t. Of course, I didn’t use as much as the recipe indicated either, but the basil moves from co-star billing to bit part once it’s cooked. You can tell there’s basil in it, but that’s all. And the cream gives it a lovely softness.
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Here in California, eggplant can always be found, year around, at our local markets. Probably because of our close proximity to Mexico, where the bulk of the eggplant crops are raised. Several states in the U.S. also grow it, but it’s a minor crop. The information here comes from Russ Parsons’ book, How to Pick a Peach, a definitive tome all about the more popular fruits and vegetables we eat here. I found the book so fascinating, I’m sharing chapters of it with you when I have time to write it up.

Lots of people apparently think eggplant is bitter; hence it’s not an overly popular vegetable. Parsons debunks that – says eggplant isn’t bitter. I’d agree. Technically, it’s a fruit. Did you know that? I didn’t.

What I learned:

• The sponge-like texture of its pulp will absorb whatever you cook with it, whether it’s oil, garlic, broth, or?

• Salting eggplant does nothing to remove any bitterness (which really isn’t there, but people think it is), but it does pull water out of the fruit, collapsing the cells, which then absorb oil more easily during cooking.

• It’s a myth that salting will prevent the eggplant from absorbing as much oil in frying.

• There are over 56 varieties of eggplant out there, and its origin is in Burma. It’s a staple food in India, China, Southeast Asia, much of Africa and the Mediterranean.

• Eggplants vary in how thick their skin is and how seedy they are (the big globe ones are the seediest), and they vary in the exact texture of the flesh.

How to choose them:

• They’re fragile – they bruise easily.

• Buy them heavy for their size, and the skin should be taut and almost bulging.

• Eggplant HATE cold. They should NOT be stored at lower than 45 degrees F (most refrigerators are between 35-40 degrees).

• Keep them as dry as possible (moisture will cause water damage) – ideally put them in a plastic bag with a paper towel. They’ll keep up to a week that way.

• Eggplant can be peeled or not. And only salt it if you’re going to FRY it.

Russ Parsons included four recipes in his book: Smoky Eggplant Bruschetta, Silky Eggplant Salad (a steamed version that he says produces a really smooth flesh), and Grilled Eggplant with Walnut Cilantro Pesto. He also details a quick grill version: cut the eggplant lengthwise into 1/2-inch thick slices. Brush both sides with garlic-flavored oil and continue brushing during the cooking. Grill just until tender – trying not to char it. When done, transfer to a heated platter and as its subsequent slices are done, stack them on top of one another.

I’ve posted about eggplant a few times here, notably one of my very favorite appetizers: Layered Hummus and Eggplant. And a few months ago I posted a recipe for a Sweet, Sour & Spicy Eggplant.

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As I analyzed this recipe, I was trying to figure out what, exactly, made these Turkish. Must be the feta cheese (a staple in the Turkish breakfast menu) and the walnuts. We certainly never had anything like these in our travels in Turkey. But then, we only ate in restaurants, and this likely wouldn’t feature on any dine-out menu. What appealed to me about these was – first – the zucchini. I had some home grown ones in the refrigerator that are a week old and needed to be used. Secondly, they have very little flour in them – the egg provided most of the binding. I wanted to make something that was more vegetables than pancake, and this fit the bill perfectly. Zucchini by and of itself doesn’t have tons of flavor. I guess I’d call it a kind of neutral vegetable, kind of like eggplant. Not like fennel. Or artichokes. Or broccoli.

The recipe came from Bon Appetit (found on Epicurious) magazine, circa 1996. Lots of other people have made these and left comments on the recipe site. Lots of alternate ideas (like using basil and mint instead of dill and tarragon, neither of which I had on hand) and suggestions for serving (with different kinds of salsas and sauces) all of which sounded good. I decorated mine with a tiny dollop of sour cream and a tiny mint leaf that was left on the chopping board. Next time I might try a different cheese (like Parmesan), but that would mean it’s likely not Turkish anymore. I added more feta (per somebody else’s suggestion) but still didn’t taste it in the finished product. I think I want a stronger cheese. Feta is a fairly strong cheese, and salty, but it got lost in the pancakes. So, if you decide to make these, keep that in mind. I still have more zucchini left, so maybe I’ll try these again with my own interpretation.

The finished product? Well, they were good. I won’t call them exceptional – not like the fennel fritters I made last year that knocked my socks off. But these were good. Healthy even. If you used Eggbeaters they’d be even lower in calorie and fat. Next time I’ll play around with the herb mixture – I couldn’t taste the mint or the basil at all. Odd that I couldn’t. I used plenty in the recipe. I particularly like thyme with zucchini, so perhaps I’ll try that instead of the basil. And maybe the tarragon would be good instead of the mint. And definitely I’d change out the cheese. Parmegiano-Reggiano would be my first substitution. But I think children would like this – providing they liked zucchini. We had leftovers of these, and 2 days later I think they tasted better than they did when I made them. I didn’t expect that with a pancake, but then, it’s mostly zucchini, not pancake. So these could easily be made ahead and reheated (I did it in the microwave which worked admirably well).
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Very rarely do I fix the kind of old-fashioned summer outdoor dinner menu for which our fore-mothers are so remembered – can’t you just picture them in their long dresses and bonnets, stirring the fire? Adding more wood to the indoor range? Whether they made hamburgers or not, I don’t know. Likely hot dogs didn’t come into existence until the last 1800’s. But the menus I’m talking about include hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, cole slaw, potato salad, pickles, baked beans, strawberry shortcake and watermelon. You know, that kind of thing. Preparing that hasn’t appealed to me for several decades. The outdoor part, the barbecuing . . . all that’s just fine. I guess the food is just a bit too . . . uh, something. I’d be happy to have it at someone else’s house, but to fix it myself? No.

So, when I was planning our family’s annual 5-birthday get-together (we have five immediate family birthdays between July 26th and August 9th), as I mentioned a day or so ago, I didn’t want to do all the cooking for this crowd (ended up being 18). So we purchased ready-made Que and I made the sides. The day before, I made and posted the story about KFC’s cole slaw. I had made this before – and in case any of you printed the recipe – it’s NOT the same as KFC’s, but it’s close. Close enough? Well, only you can judge. I decided this time that maybe 4-6 hours of marinating is enough – by the next day the cabbage seemed kind of wilted. By yesterday it was over the hill.

Then I made a really nice green type salad I’ll post tomorrow from a recipe brought by my daughter, Sara. It’s supposedly a Soup Plantation version. I like it, whatever it is, although it’s also on the sweet side. I also made the oh-so-tasty watermelon with feta and mint that my friend Kathleen fixed for us last month. It was a big hit at this party – it mostly disappeared, and it’s so darned easy, and amazing how the combination of the salty feta and the sweet watermelon and mint is like a marriage made in heaven. I added more feta and more mint than Martha’s recipe indicated, as you can see from this picture.

And then I opted to make one high-carb side that just seemed right for the menu – baked beans. In my book there are two kinds of baked beans – barbecue type and sweet baked beans. Barbecue beans are more savory tasting. With things like onions, garlic, celery maybe, some tomato sauce perhaps, ham hocks or bacon for flavor. And probably some herbs or spices to liven it up. Baked beans, on the other hand, were developed in New England during the early frontier days of America’s founding. The early settlers must have found good land for growing beans, and they discovered the sweet syrup from maple trees. Combine them and you have “Boston baked beans.” Over the hundreds of years since, maple syrup leaned toward molasses (the early settlers probably had molasses too, brought in from the Caribbean). I don’t know any of these things for sure; it’s just my conjecture. Year ago I bought an old New England style bean pot (crockery type), and used it for a long while. I made baked beans in it many a time. I don’t recall what happened to it – maybe it cracked? People who live in New England and make baked beans regularly swear by the crockery style pot – they believe the flavor is immensely enhanced by using that vessel.

I’ll wager that I hadn’t made this in 20+ years. In my old recipe book, it’s written out in longhand, with cryptic notes (no measurements). Here’s what the list says:

1 huge can B&M baked beans
brown sugar
cinnamon
ground cloves
salt pork

Then, in red ink, I’d written in on the side:
Pineapple (crushed)

So, you see, although this little list comprises mostly ingredients for sweet beans, I added salt pork (from the savory side). Never let it be said that I prepared any recipe (except baked goods) exactly as written. I tampered. When I made it this time, I used bacon instead of salt pork. I added some onion. I left out the ground cloves and the brown sugar (because I thought the canned beans were sweet enough as is). Rather than keep them simmering on the stovetop, I opted to put them in the oven. And because they were quite soupy, I left the lid off. Probably a mistake. They lost way too much fluid, even though the oven temp was about 250. So they were almost dry and had almost reached the point of mush by the time dinner was served. I will say, though, that everybody ate them with relish – there are only a few spoonfuls left. Enough for leftovers. And you know what? They tasted even better the next day. To me anyway.
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The other night when I made the Chicken Tikka Masala, I also had an eggplant in the refrigerator. I looked through my one and only Indian cookbook for some ideas and found a recipe for a combination of eggplant and potatoes. I didn’t have any potatoes, and was making rice for the chicken anyway, so I just made this dish with eggplant only and served it as a side vegetable. Indian food is traditionally very heavy with vegetables. I’ve enjoyed the vegetable dishes I’ve made at home better than ones at restaurants. Maybe they’re overcooked from a restaurant kitchen.

Anyway, I was very pleased with this rendition, from Easy Indian Cooking, by Suneeta Vaswani. Several years ago I attended a cooking class taught by the author. Sunetta’s family favorite, Pepper Chicken, I posted earlier this year. I’ve made it many times. I’ve learned to trust this cookbook when it comes to anything Indian, and this eggplant dish lived up to the reputation. I’d definitely make it again, even if it wasn’t an Indian-themed dinner. I liked the spice combo, and the vinegar-sugar (Splenda) mixture poured over the eggplant just at the end was delightful. There’s just a hint of sweetness, and really no sign of the vinegar. I simply couldn’t taste it at all – it gets absorbed into the eggplant completely. As is always the case with brown or beige food, this dish doesn’t photograph very well, but the taste was great.
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