Barefoot In Paris

Guess which Barefoot Contessa is my favorite? Hard wasn't it? Yes, I love Paris. So following the Ina Garten around Paris while she cooks is about as much fun an one person can have when they are snowed in. Perhaps we could be having more fun if we were snowed in in Paris. With Ina...but I digress.

I have a theory about cooking. Anything you make will be greatly enhanced if you wrap it in puff pastry. It's my theory and I am sticking with it.

So there can be little doubt that this is one of my favorite recipes. I love spinach. It's good for you. It's even better for you with garlic and cheese. Now wrap it all up in puff pastry and it is magical. I know it sounds like spanakopita with puff pastry instead of filo, but we don't care. It's yummy.

Spinach in Puff Pastry

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 cups onions, chopped
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic, (3 cloves)
2 (10-oz) boxes frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
1/3 cup scallions, chopped, white & green parts (2 scallions)
1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp. bread crumbs
2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry, defrosted in refrigerator overnight
1 egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp. water, for egg wash

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat butter in sauté pan and cook the onions over medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes, until tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Meanwhile, squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a bowl. Add the onion mixture, scallions, Gruyere, Parmesan, eggs, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, nutmeg and pine nuts. Mix well.

Unfold one sheet of puff pastry and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spread the spinach mixture in the middle of the pastry, leaving a 1-inch border. Brush the border with the egg wash. Roll out the 2nd sheet of pastry on a floured board until it’s an inch larger in each direction. Place the 2nd sheet of pastry over the spinach and seal the edges, crimping them with a fork. Brush the top with egg wash but don’t let it drip down the sides of the pastry won’t rise. Make three small slits in the pastry, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the pastry is lightly browned. Transfer to a cutting board and serve hot.

This can be assembled a day in advance, refrigerated, and baked before serving.

But really, waiting a day to cook this is just plain crazy. Bake it immediately. Trust me.

Barefoot Contessa -- Back To Basics

You know me. I go to the bookshelves to look for something and then I become obsessed. So I went in search of this orzo recipe, knowing it was in a Barefoot Contessa. Then I pulled a bunch of them down, and now I am sharing them with you.

I admit, I cook a lot, so I am never really enamored of those "basics" books. Somehow I ended up with a copy of Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa --Back To Basics. If you don't know how to cook or just don't like to cook, but sometimes need to put food on the table, this book is for you. Even Garten's complicated recipes seem easy. Most recipes in the book I can cook without flinching, but as you know if you read Cookbook Of The Day, I am not the best fish cooker. So I was drawn to this recipe. It seems sole easy. I am going to give it a try.

Easy Sole Meuniere

½ cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 fresh sole fillets, 3 to 4 ounces each
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Have 2 heat-proof dinner plates ready.

Combine the flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a large shallow plate. Pat the sole fillets dry with paper towels and sprinkle one side with salt.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large (12-inch) sauté pan over medium heat until it starts to brown. Dredge 2 sole fillets in the seasoned flour on both sides and place them in the hot butter. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 2 minutes. Turn carefully with a metal spatula and cook for 2 minutes on the other side. While the second side cooks, add ½ teaspoon of lemon zest and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to the pan.

Carefully put the fish fillets on the ovenproof plates and pour the sauce over them. Keep the cooked fillets warm in the oven while you repeat the process with the remaining 2 fillets. When they’re done, add the cooked fillets to the plates in the oven. Sprinkle with the parsley, salt, and pepper and serve immediately.

Wouldn't this be really great if we dredged it in cornmeal and fired it!

Braefoot Contessa Parties!

It think orzo is one of the most overlooked pasta out there. Out there in the universe of pastaland? Wherever.
It cooks quickly. It is a great alternative to rice. It is great in soups. There is just so much one can make with it and yet it sits on the shelf, just waiting for someone to take it home.

One person who takes it home is The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. You may not believe me but I know will trust Ina. She has a lovely recipe for orzo and veggies. It is a great dish and one can manipulate it to your hearts desire. (Add squashes in summer, maybe a diced tomato, you pick.) Just remember to add the orzo. This is a suggestion from Ina Garten's The Barefoot Contessa Parties!

Orzo with Roasted Vegetables

1 small eggplant, peeled and 3/4-inch diced
1 red bell pepper, 1-inch diced
1 yellow bell pepper, 1-inch diced
1 red onion, peeled and 1-inch diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound orzo

For the dressing:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/3 cup good olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To assemble:
4 scallions, minced (white and green parts)
1/4 cup pignolis, toasted
3/4 pound good feta, 1/2-inch diced (not crumbled)
15 fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Toss the eggplant, bell peppers, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large baking sheet. Roast for 40 minutes, until browned, turning once with a spatula.

Meanwhile, cook the orzo in boiling salted water for 7 to 9 minutes, until tender. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl.

Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta, scraping all the liquid and seasonings from the roasting pan into the pasta bowl.

For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and pour on the pasta and vegetables. Let cool to room temperature, then add the scallions, pignolis, feta, and basil. Check the seasonings, and serve at room temperature.

All we are saying is give orzo a chance.

Brownies

Sometimes you start thinking about something and it just won’t let go. Since I was writing about brownies and since I talked about the lovely publishing firm of Ryland Peters & Small, it seems natural that another of their books should come up. It’s not hard to guess which one.

Brownies by Linda Collister is another fine book by of Ryland Peters & Small. Though there are not that many recipes, the ones that are in the book are fabulous. Collister is a master baker who makes her recipe accessible to home bakers.

If you like to have a little fruit with your brownies, this is the recipe for you. Here is all the goodness of big box of chocolate covered cherries in a classic brownie formula.

Black Forest Brownies

8 oz. good bittersweet chocolate
9 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
3 extra-large eggs
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons superfine sugar
2 Tablespoons Kirsch or juice from cherries in jar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 oz. good bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped or 2/3 cup chocolate chips
1 16 oz. can black cherries (6oz. drained weight)
confectioners' sugar, for dusting
7" X 11" brownie pan, greased and bottom line


Preheat oven to 350 F.
Break up the 8oz. chocolate and put it into a heatproof bowl. Add the butter and cream and set it over a saucepan of steaming water. Melt gently, stirring frequently. Remove from the pan and let cool until needed.

Break eggs into mixing bowl with electric mixer and whisk just until frothy. Add sugar and Kirsch (if using) and whisk until thick and mousse-like. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture.

Sift flour into mixture and stir in. When thoroughly combined stir in the chocolate pieces. Transfer the mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Gently drop cherries onto the top of the brownie mixture as evenly as possible.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove pan from oven.

Leave until cool before removing from pan and cutting into 24 pieces. Dusted with confectioners' sugar. Store in an airtight container and eat within 4 days.

Two things:

I never dust baked goods with powdered sugar. I just don’t like that layer of sweetness sprinkled over an already sweet pastry.

My cookbooks are gathered from many locations. This post and the one before it are good examples. Both books are published by Ryland Peters & Small, however, Edible Gifts is a British edition and Brownies is the U.S. edition. As we say, the recipes come directly from the book listed, so that is why one has grams and the other ounces.

Edible Gifts

I approach books about edible gifts the same way I approach picnic books. I buy them not so much for the recipes as any food can be a gift or a picnic, or even a picnic gift; I buy them to see how they are packaged.

Edible Gifts by Kay Fairfax is one of those slim volumes beautifully produced by the British firm Ryland Peters & Small. Their niche is to produce beautifully photographed books on a very specific subjects. They produce a series of food books are beautiful and small additions to any library. The major complaint about these books is the comprehensiveness of the recipes. Most of the recipe books linger between 25 and 50 recipes. A lot of people complain that there are just too few recipes, but in a book that is looking at Edible Gifts, truly the magic is in the photos.

I have recently been talking to several people about brownies. It is one of those serendipitous events where everyone you talk to, seems to be talking about the same thing. There was the over-cooked brownies in the convection oven, the blondies conversation, the discussion as to whether those “brownie pans” on the television really work, and my question, “When are they going to make a brownie pan that has NO edge?” as I like the chewy middle.

Here are some brownies that everyone should like, edges and all.

Brownies

170g butter
3 free range eggs
325g golden caster sugar
75g cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
75g plain flour, sifted
250g dark chocolate drops, or finely chopped if using a bar
150g nuts, such as walnuts, almonds, pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)

Chocolate Cream

100ml double cream
125g dark chocolate drops, or finely chopped if using a bar

Cake tin, 28 x 18 x 1 cm, lined with baking parchment extending 5cm beyond the long ends.

Method

1. Melt the butter gently in a small saucepan

2. Put the eggs in a bowl, whisk lightly, then whisk in the sugar. stir in the melted butter, cocoa and vanilla. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir in the flour, stir through the chocolate and the nuts if you are using them.

3. Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake in a preheated oven (160c) for 25-30 mins. until just firm in the centre and still moist at the bottom.

Do not overcook the brownies, they are not meant to have the consistency of a cake and should be moist and gooey in the middle. They will dry out as they cool.

4. Remove from the oven and let stand, still in the tin, on a wire rack, until completely cool.

5. Using the overhanging paper, carefully lift the brownies out of the tin onto a flat board and peel off the paper. Dust with cocoa powder or cover with chocolate cream. Cut into squares.

Chocolate Cream

1. Put the cream in a saucepan and heat until; just simmering. Add the chocolate and stir till smooth and glossy. Cool in the fridge for about an hour till firm enough to spread over the brownies.

I’ll eat the middle if you eat the edges.

American Cooking -- Southern Style

Time-Life produced a series of cookbook collections to varying degrees of success. The individual volumes show up in kitchens and used bookstores around the country. Many times, the volumes were flipped through once or twice and set aside as more of a collector’s item than a practical volume. James Beard oversaw the American Cooking series.

The best of the best of this series is the volume Southern Style. (I know you think this is prejudicial but nothing could be farther from the truth, honest.) Southern Style was written by Eugene Walter. For more than 20 years, Walter had lived in Rome and Paris but whenever he was asked that familiar question, “Where are you from?”, Walter always answered, “I’m Southern.”

“In a sense I have never left home: in Rome I live as I lived in Mobile. On my terrace garden I have five kinds of mint, five kinds of onions and chives, as well as four-o-clocks and sweet olive. I take a nap after the midday meal; there is always time for gossip and for writing letters. I eat southern dishes: fried chicken, grits and spoon bread, having learned to cook almost all of them since I left home. I enjoy guests, I stay up the night of the full moon, my life is one long quest for a perfect cup of hot strong black coffee.”

It is the way of Southerners. I can remember my mother pleading with grocers to stock okra and when that failed, trying desperately to grow a small patch in the cold of Montana. I remember loading my car with bags and bags of White Lily flour and Martha White corn meal after a trip to Alabama. Even today, I am always on the phone to my BFF, Beverly asking her to send some Alabama product to me (most recently Alaga syrup).

My Father loved tongue and twice a year my mother cooked one for him. I like to eat the tongue, but I hated seeing it sitting on the counter. This recipe changed that.

Mobile Thyme Tongue

A 4-pound fresh beef tongue
2 cups distilled white vinegar
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 medium-sized onions, peeled and cut into 1/4 –inch-thick slices
1 medium sized garlic clove, peeled and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon crumbled dry thyme
1 tablespoon salt

With a small sharp skewer, pierce completely through the beef tongue in at least a dozen places. Then set the tongue aside in an enameled casserole just large enough to hold it comfortably.

Combine the vinegar, wine sugar, onions, garlic, mustard, thyme and salt in a 2-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar and mustard dissolve. Immediately pour over the tongue and turn the meat about to moisten it evenly. Refrigerate uncovered and when the marinade is cool, cover the casserole with its lid. Let the tongue marinade in the refrigerator for 24 hours, turning it over two or three times.

Preheat the oven to 300 F. Bring the tongue to a boil over high heat, then cover the casserole with a double thickness of aluminum foil and set the lid in place. Bake the tongue in the middle of the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until it shows no resistance when pierced deeply with a fork.

If you plan to serve the tongue hot, transfer it to a heated platter. Skim and discard as much fat as possible from the surface of the cooking liquid, then strain the liquid through a fine sieve into a small bowl. Taste for seasoning, and present the sauce in a sauceboat with the tongue.

If you plan to serve the tongue cold, let it cool to room temperature in the cooking liquid; refrigerate until ready to serve. Transfer the tongue to a platter or cutting board, trim it and carve it into thin slices. Arrange the slices on a chilled platter.

When in Rome do as the Southerners do.

Hints & Pinches

The best advice to cooks is, I feel,
seek fresh,
avoid chemicals,
keep a light hand,
rise to the occasion,
try what you don’t know,
have fun
….and good eating, you all!

Eugene Walter

We are finishing up our Alabama week with a flourish of Eugene Walter. Today’s entry is from his book, Hints & Pinches. It is my favorite type of book, an abecedary filled with herbs and spices from the mundane (salt) to the unusual (day lilies) and everything in between. The plants are presented with a botanical history as well as a social history dotted with folk tales, Southern story telling and humor.

The book is jam packed with medicinal cures, jazzy condiments and unusual recipes such as: Hamburgers with Tequila, Southern Belle Ice Cream, ‘Possum’s Passion, Elderberry Ketchup, and Hellfire Mustard. Walter’s recipes feature his years of collecting recipes from throughout the South and his years of globe trotting that add an international flair to his recipes.

In keeping with Walter’s advice, here is a wonderful variation on a carrot salad. There is nothing better than pulling fresh carrots from the garden, adding a bit of garlic and a touch of vinegar and making a light summer salad. Here is a complex variation of that simple salad.

As for advice on preparing the carrots Walters states emphatically:

"NEVER PEEL CARROTS! The flavor and nutritional value are immediately beneath the skin. Soak in cold water, scrub lightly with a straw brush, flick off any obtrusive specks of earth. That’s what fingernails are for."

North African Carrot Salad

1 pound fresh carrots (scrubbed, cut in quarters, longwise)
3 or 4 cloves garlic
1/4 teaspoon pounded cumin seeds
pinch of coriander seeds
wine vinegar
salt
sugar
hot red pepper
parsley to garnish

Cook carrots with salt, sugar, garlic about 12 minutes. Drain, sprinkle amply with vinegar, a little more salt, cayenne pepper to your taste. Sprinkle coriander seeds on top, garnish with sprigs of parsley.

Don’t forget to check out more on Eugene Walter at Lucindaville.

Delectable Dishes From Termite Hall

Originally, Termite Hall was coaching inn located halfway between the Mobile, Alabama courthouse and Spring Hill College. It was known appropriately as the Halfway House. It was a place Eugene Walter knew well. The house came to its name honestly. There are several stories all a means to the same end. One has it that Mrs. Marston, the lady of the house, was walking through the house when the parlor floor gave way because of the termites. Another has the children sitting on a balustrade on the porch. When they got up, it collapsed, eaten away by the termites. Either termite story was sufficient for the house to become Termite Hall.

Eugene Walter was a consummate cook and food writer on a par with M.F.K. Fisher. He was a consultant on the Time Life Series, writing American Cooking –- Southern Style. He was also an award winning novelist and poet, a singe, actor and composer, and a general bon vivant of colossal proportion. For more on Eugene Walter, check out our post at Lucindaville. For more on his cookbooks, stay here.


Delectable Dishes From Termite Hall takes its title from the fine old three-story building seen above. Eugene Walter was not the kind of man to walk away from a good tale and falling through the floor at Termite Hall was a great tale.

Since he was a boy, Walter collected recipes the same way some kids collected stamps. As an adult, he compiled many of these recipes into a several cookbooks. In an introduction to this edition, novelist Pat Conroy writes,

“I have not come across a bad recipe in the book, and certainly, not a dull one. It was Eugene who told me that as a cookbook writer he was always trying to disguise the fact that “my real job is to be a philosopher king and prince of elves.””

Here is Eugene Walter at his elfish best on the subject of Jerusalem artichokes, grown everywhere in the South.

“Twenty-five lashes with a dead flounder to whichever publicity genius dreamed up the name Sun Choke. The plant has been known since the early 1600’s as Helianthus tuberosus, topinamber, and Jerusalem artichoke. …I love the French topinambour: I’ve always felt that if Rumpelstiltskin or Pinocchio had a little sister her name would be Topinambour.

Here is an old recipe for an even older vegetable.

Stewed Topinambour – Old Mobile Style

Melt some butter and bacon fat in the skillet and brown a thinly sliced onion, sprinkle in a tablespoon of flour, stir until nicely colored, not dark. Add a small glass of dry white wine, mix and let simmer a minute then put in a crushed toe of garlic, some freshly-ground black pepper, a dash of nutmeg, and a pound or so of small peeled Jerusalem artichokes. Simmer until the vegetable is cooked but not mushy. Before serving add more butter, salt to taste, and a sprinkling of chopped parsley or chives.

If you have never tasted Jerusalem artichokes, give this recipe a try. And please, please, read Eugene Walter.

Crazy Sista Cooking

Lucy (Lulu) Buffett lives in L.A. (Lower Alabama). Yes, her brother is Warren Buffett. No, her brother is Jimmy Buffett. Yes, she parties just like Jimmy. And she has her very own place to party, Lulu's at Homeport Marina in Gulf Shores, Alabama. As you might expect, Crazy Sista Cooking is just that, a bit crazy but always good. Lulu learned to cook like many women, at the apron strings of family members. Buffett ascribes her love of cooking her grandmothers.

"My maternal Grandmother Peets was the dietitian for Gulf Park College, a girls' finishing school in Long Beach, Miss. She had elegant taste, although she was a working woman all of her life. My paternal Grandmother Buffett grew up in a boarding house and she was constantly in her Pascagoula, Miss., kitchen cooking vast and scrumptious Gulf Coast meals. It was the best of both worlds for me.

These recipes are designed to make cooking fun and easy. They are the kind of recipes that just might fool you into believing that you are watching the L. A. sunset. These are not "dine alone" recipes. They are best served with lots of cold beer and lots of good friend. Or acquaintances who will quickly become good friends if you keep feeding them from this cookbook. This recipe was the one Lucy used when she competed in Great American Seafood CookOff.

Screaming Easy Wild Shrimp Wasabi

1 tablespoon wasabi powder
1/4 cup beer (I use Corona beer and drink the rest while cooking)
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
2 pounds large headless shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails intact
1//2 teaspoon course sea salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
Lime slices for garnish

1. Combine wasabi powder, beer and horseradish. Set aside.

2. Peel and de-vein shrimp, leaving tails intact.

3. Place a cast iron skillet over high heat. When it begins to smoke, add shrimp. Shake skillet and toss or stir shrimp for 15 seconds or until they just begin to turn pink.

4. Add salt, wasabi mixture and butter. Stir quickly, turning shrimp for another 15 seconds, then cover tightly and remove from heat. Let shrimp rest for 5 minutes.

5. Add cilantro, stir once, and cover again. Wait another 5 minutes.

6. Garnish with lime slices and serve immediately.

Now that brother Jimmy has acquired Landshark beer, I'm sure that the Corona has been replaced. If you want a spicy good time, give this a try.

Bottega Favorita

In 1982, Frank Stitt boarded a plane for his native Alabama announcing that he was moving to Birmingham to open a world-class restaurant. People laughed. They are not laughing now. For several years after opening Highlands Bar and Grill, Stitt drove past a fading piece of architecture emblazoned with the words “Bottega Favorita.” Designed by the architects who built the New York Public Library, the building once housed the finest department store in the South, Gus Mayer. The building had fallen on hard times, but every time Stitt passed by, “Bottega Favorita” called out to him. How often do you find a building that already has a restaurant name carved in limestone in the façade? It wasn’t long before Stitt got his building.



Frank Stitt loved Italy almost as much as he loved Alabama. Until he opened Bottega Favorita the most famous Italian chef in Alabama was Chef Boyardee. Stitt took his love for Italy and his love for the indigenous produce of Alabama and married them. I have often written of the constant repetition that happens in regional cookbooks. Stitt takes many familiar Italian dishes and reworks them into Southern classics, giving new meaning to the term Southern Italian cooking.

Bottega Favorita: A Southern Chef's Love Affair with Italian Food gives us a look into that successful marriage. There are veal cheeks paired with sweet potato, pork scaloppini with greens and Vidalia onions, ravioli with crayfish, candied lemon and Tabasco, tuna salad crostini, lamb and orzo soup with butter beans, and the list goes on. These innovative dishes are some of the reasons Frank Stitt is consistently voted one of the best chefs in the country.

Farro with Butter Beans

1 1/2 cups farro
1 1/2 cups Chicken Stock or water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 bay leaf
1 thyme sprig
1 cup fresh or frozen butter beans
A few thyme sprigs, a small celery stalk, a bay leaf, tied together with kitchen string to form a bouquet garni
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Rinse the farro in a strainer under cold running water for a minute to remove any bitter residue. Pour the chicken stock or water into a medium saucepan, add butter, salt and pepper to taste, bay leaf, and thyme sprig, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the farro, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, until the farro is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed.

While the farro simmers, cook the butter beans whit the bouquet garni, in a saucepan of generously seasoned boiling water until tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain the beans, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid.

Gently fold the beans into the cooked farro and moisten with some of the reserved broth. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

I have shelled thousands of butter beans and never once thought, "Let's cook them up with some farro!" Now I do.