The Splendid Table

My favorite way to cook is listening to NPR on my kitchen radio -- from All Things Considered to Fresh Air to Car Talk. My very, very favorite program to listen to while cooking is The Splendid Table. On Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), The Splendid Table is played Sunday evenings, a perfect time for cooking a warm and homemade meal.

It's a fantastic show about food, cooking, and eating. They just added a new feature called "Stump the Cook," (should sound familiar to anyone who listens to Car Talk!) in which someone calls in, gives the host, Lynn, a list of five random ingredients from their fridge or pantry, and Lynn then has to make up a recipe using those five ingredients. Her recipe is then judged on its worthiness by the one and only Christopher Kimball of America's Test Kitchen fame. Fun! And can be pretty hilarious. I so want to call in one of these days.

One thing I learned this past Sunday that I had always wondered about and never known (did you know this?):

Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Baking soda is direct leavening - it reacts instantly but needs an acid ingredient to start the reaction. Baking powder contains in its mix the exact amount of acid needed for the soda (1 teaspoon baking powder includes 1/4 teaspoon baking soda) and reacts in different stages so you have more control. Baking powder will be labeled "double acting" or "triple acting." In a recipe, the correct amount of baking powder is 1 teaspoon per cup of flour (at the maximum 1-1/4 teaspoons); for baking soda it's 1/4 teaspoon per cup of flour. Get the leavening right and you'll have lighter, finer textured cakes.


I highly recommend checking The Splendid Table out, and I actually highly recommend this past Sunday's show -- listen to the podcast the next time you're cooking!

Cooking with Bubbe Winston, Part Deux: Flourless Almond-Pear Torte

As promised, here is the grand finale to Winston's wonderful Passover feast: the flourless but no less delicious almond-pear torte. Believe me, you'd never know the flour was missing!

Almond-Pear Torte
Makes one 9-inch torte. No flour or leavening so good for Pesach; at other times you could replace some of the almond meal with whole-wheat flour.

olive oil
1 pear
3 eggs, separated
1/2 cup and 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar
1 cups almond meal
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange or other liqueur
dash of salt

Set oven to 325’ and lightly oil a 9” cake pan. Cut a piece of parchment paper large enough to cover the bottom and sides of the pan and fit to the pan and lightly oil and sprinkle teaspoon of sugar across bottom of pan.

Core and quarter pear and quarter those pieces and fan pieces in a circle in the pan.

Beat the egg whites and dash of salt just until they form soft peaks; beat whites first because you need a completely clean bowl, and transfer to another bowl.

Then beat egg yolks and sugar for 1½ minutes. Add almond meal, vanilla, and liqueur and mix briefly until combined.

Take bowl off mixer and use spatula to mix in 1/3 of whites into the batter to lighten it and then add remaining whites and gently mix until completely integrated, and pour over pear slices in pan and gently even out with spatula.

Bake for 35-45 minutes until golden brown. Place dish over pan, invert, and peel back parchment slowly to reveal pear pattern. Serve warm or reheat slightly before serving later.

A Passover Feast with Bubbe Winston

The last time I was in San Francisco, my dear friend Winston had a little surprise in store for me: a preview of a Pesach (Passover) feast!

Knowing I am on my path of conversion to Judaism -- and knowing I don't have a Jewish grandmother of my own to teach me her secret recipe for matzoh ball soup and other Jewish culinary delights -- Winston decided to play bubbe and share his love of Jewish food and culture with me.

Boy, am I a lucky girl. Today, I'm sharing with you almost all of it -- I'll post his amazing flourless dessert tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Bubbe Winston's Pesach/Passover Feast (minus dessert)

Now remember: Passover is the holiday when, according to the wonderful JewFAQ, Jews remove all "chametz (leaven) from our homes. This commemorates the fact that the Jews leaving Egypt were in a hurry, and did not have time to let their bread rise. It is also a symbolic way of removing the 'puffiness' (arrogance, pride) from our souls."

Because Passover is the commemoration of the Jews' exodus from Egypt and slavery. The word for Egypt in Hebrew is mitzrayim, which also happens to be the word for "the narrow places." So we're contemplating not just the historic exodus from Egypt, but our own personal coming through and out of our own personal narrows. DEEP.

Spring Matzoh Ball Soup

Matzoh Balls
2 eggs
1/4 cup seltzer
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch fresh dill
salt and pepper
1/2 cup whole-wheat matzoh meal

Soup
1 quart home-made or store-bought chicken broth
1 boneless, skinned chicken breast
Mix of asparagus, zucchini, carrots, fresh shitakes, fresh ginger, lemon
Salt and pepper

Rinse, stem, and loosely chop dill; reserve some for serving.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until they are pale and frothy. Add seltzer, olive oil, and dill; season and mix well. Add matzoh meal and mix well, cover, and refrigerate at least one hour to overnight.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Oil or wet your hands and form very small, loose ½” balls (they will at least double in size). Gently drop matzoh balls directly into boiling water and cook for 15 minutes or until they all float to the surface. Taste one for doneness. Rinse original bowl, and use slotted spoon to remove matzoh balls and reserve in bowl.

Empty pot and place stock and chicken breast in pot and bring to a boil; lower to a simmer for 10 minutes. Thinly slice asparagus diagonally, and thinly julienne zucchini, carrots, shitakes, ginger, and lemon peel. Slice lemon wedges for serving.

Check chicken breast for doneness and remove and cool. Add vegetables and peel to the broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Thinly slice chicken and add with matzoh balls to re-warm briefly and serve with dill garnish and lemon wedges.

Will serve 4-6 people.







Minimalist Latkes
Because these have no eggs or flour, they are also fine for Pesach.

2 large russet potatoes
6 scallion bulbs
1 shallot
salt and pepper
olive oil

Either by hand: grate potatoes, cut scallions into 3” lengths and thinly slice, and peel and thinly slice shallot; or use feeding chute and grating attachment on food processor to grate halved potatoes, 3” lengths of scallion, and peeled shallot.

Season well and mix together in large bowl and let sit for at least half hour to allow potatoes to release their starch—that starch is what holds these latkes together. Heat olive oil at a depth of 1/8” in a cast-iron pan until shimmering. Set oven to 200’ and line an oven-safe platter with parchment paper and paper toweling.

Mix potato mixture again, and use a stainless steel fork to place about a tablespoon of mixture in the oil and use the fork to spread out into a lacy pattern; do not crowd pan. Use spatula and fork together to turn when golden and to transfer to oven until ready to eat. Add oil and heat before adding new mixture. Serve with applesauce and Greek-style yoghurt.

Yields approximately four dozen latkes.







Coleslaw

½ head red cabbage (or green, or savoy, or any combination)
1 carrot
1 pear (or apple, peach, mango, papaya, according to season or availability)
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Greek-style yoghurt
1 teaspoon mustard
1 teaspoon honey

Core and finely slice cabbage, grate carrot, and core and julienne pear. Mix in large bowl, salt and pepper well, and add remaining ingredients and mix. Cover and refrigerate overnight; toss, taste,and adjust before serving.



Don't forget: dessert tomorrow! Yum yum.

Baked Ziti

This is one of those recipes that is so in my bones, I don't even remember where I originally got it from. All I know is that this is a recipe for ooey gooey warm deliciousness in a pan.

Definitely one to have around for the winter. And whenever you're watching a Godfather or Sopranos marathon. Am I the only one who craves homemade Italian food when I watch those? I see Carmela take a pan of ziti out of her fridge for the priest who's stopped by and I am like instantly drooling.

Anyway...I digress. Back to the recipe. It's like an easier lasagna, really. And the truth is that the last time I used actual ziti as the pasta in the recipe was nearly 8 years ago -- any short, tube-like pasta will do: penne, rigatoni, fusilli, whatever's easy and on hand. We actually like it best with Trader Joe's organic whole wheat fusilli, but that's just us.


Dena's Baked Ziti

1 lb. short, tubular pasta (like ziti or penne)
1 lb. ground beef (leave this out or substitute with fake meat for vegetarian version)
16 oz. mozzarella, grated
3-4 oz. parmesan, grated
4 (or more, if you're like me) garlic cloves, chopped
1 onion, finely diced
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
dash of oregano

Preheat your oven to 450F.

Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. When it's shimmery and hot, add the onion and garlic and toss and let it get nice and warmed through, about 2 minutes or so.

While the onion and garlic are cooking, set the pasta to cook in boiling, salted water in a large pot.

Once the onion and garlic is very fragrant and the onion is starting to get translucent, add a bit of oregano, and after about a minute, add the ground beef and smush it with the back of a wooden spoon to break it up into small pieces. Let it brown all over.

Once it's browned, add the crushed tomatoes and stir to get everything mixed together. Let it come to a boil, then stir and bring down to a simmer. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Drain your pasta and put it back in the large pot in which it was boiled. Add the tomato-beef sauce and mix well. See -- this is why you have to make sure you use a big pot!

Add 1/4 of the mozzarella cheese to the pot and mix well so the cheese is everywhere, all melty and gooey and nice. Toss the remaining mozzarella with the parmesan so it's all mixed together well.

Transfer mixture to a 9x13 baking dish and spread it out evenly. Top with the mozzarella-parmesan cheese mixture and make sure it is evenly distributed across the top.

Pop it in the oven for about 5 minutes. Then turn the broiler on high and let it sit under the broiler for as long as it takes for the cheese to get bubbly and browned in places, but not burnt! Broilers can be tricky and finicky -- I find each one has its own temperament (so to speak), so you gotta watch it closely.

When it is browned the way you like it, remove, serve, and enjoyyyyyyyyyy. Press play on the Sopranos DVD.

Deal Breakers

There is a great article in today's New York Times about "recipe deal breakers." You know, those directions, ingredients, or called-for utensils in a recipe that make you think, "What? Forget it," and skip to the next recipe.

I had a giggle reading this article because I realized I am mostly pretty lazy when it comes to recipes. I have a lot of deal breakers. And I'm okay with that, because I cook a lot and find I still have a whole stack of recipes in my file that I haven't gotten to yet. And I also do sometimes push past a deal breaker to make a recipe that seems overly fussy, often for special occasions or because it just sounds too yummy to forego. Those are recipes I save for Sundays, when you can take all afternoon if you need to.

So what are my deal breakers? Well, it's slightly embarassing because really, you will read this list and go Dena what the heck? What is deal-breaking about THAT? And my friends, I cannot explain it to you, but these things just usually aren't worth it to me.

• Deep-frying



• Use of a food processor (I just don't have one, so...unless I can replicate it by hand, that recipe's getting skipped)



• Too many steps -- if it looks complicated on the page, then I know I will not enjoy doing it in the kitchen



• Candy thermometer



• Too many ingredients that are one-time use only -- I will happily buy new ingredients for a dish, but if it calls for some strange flour which I can only buy in a 5-lb. bag of which I will only be using 1 cup and will likely only use once a year, then forget it.



• Any pot or pan that is outside the standard cook's set -- I don't really have any specialty pots or pans, and I'm okay with that. If I can replicate the desired effect (like a double boiler for melting chocolate or a butter-melting pan), then I'll stick with it.



• Rare cuts of meat that require work at home-- I *hate* trimming and cutting meat. I'll do it with standard chicken and beef cuts, but if I have to do more than is required for that, forget it. It just grosses me out.



• Chicken breast cutlets -- I know, I know, this is my weirdest one. It's so easy to turn a breast into a cutlet: just pound it! But I hate doing it. And I always botch it. So I stay away from it.

And now, I want to hear from you. What are yours? I'm dying to know.

Quiche for a Rainy Day

 

Or for a sunny day! Quiche is always a lovely dinner treat -- it's so luscious and fancy-seeming, even though it's surprisingly easy to make.

One of the great things about quiche is that once you know the basic formula, you can play with the ingredients and make countless variations depending on what you're in the mood for.

Yesterday I made quiche in the morning to have for dinner with a small side salad later in the evening. I highly recommend this as a Sunday dinner! Plus you can make two just as easily as you can make one, which means you've got delicious leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day. Quiche keeps wonderfully.

 

Dena's Mushroom-Leek Quiche
(based on and adapted from Cook's Illustrated's quiche recipe)

Note: to keep it easy, I used store-bought, pre-made frozen pie crusts. Just make sure you look at the ingredient list -- the ones I bought had only four ingredients! If you're in the mood to make pie dough, by all means, you should.*

Makes two 9-inch quiches, since most pie crusts that you buy come in pairs.

2 pre-baked pie crusts
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp organic butter
3 medium leeks
2 cups crimini mushrooms (or any variety you prefer)
4 large eggs plus 4 large egg yolks
2 cups organic Half & Half
1 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper (or regular pepper, which is what I had on hand, so it's what I used!)
2 cups freshly grated Gruyere cheese

Follow the directions on the pie crust package to pre-bake them and get them ready for your quiche -- usually you'll want to bring them to room temperature by leaving them out on the counter for about 10 minutes, prick the sides and bottom with a fork, and put them in a 375-degree oven for 7-10 minutes or so. Set aside when done.

Keep the oven on.

Cut the tops and green parts off the leeks, then cut in half length-wise and then cut into 1/4-inch slices width-wise. Saute the leeks in 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a skillet over medium heat til they are soft, about 5-7 minutes.

Slice the mushrooms and saute them in the remaining olive oil and butter in the same pan over medium-high heat until they are nicely browned and even slightly crispy on the edges.

Whisk all the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the cheese (eggs, half & half, salt & pepper) together in a big bowl. Add in mushrooms and leeks and stir to combine.

Spread the cheese evenly over the bottom of the warm pie shells and set the shells on a baking sheet (lined with aluminum foil for easy clean-up should any spills occur). Pour the custard mixture into the pie shells so that it just comes up to right below the rim of the crust, but no further. Carefully -- very carefully! -- move the baking sheet to the oven.

Bake until light golden brown-ish, 32-35 minutes. Test for done-ness by inserting a knife blade about 1 inch from the edge of the crust: if it comes out clean, it's done! Don't worry if the center looks slightly uncooked or set but soft. It will continue to bake and become perfectly done once you've removed it and it's cooling. Remove from oven and set on a cooling rack (like the kind you use for cookies) so that air circulates all around and prevents condensation on the bottom.

Serve warm or at room temperature and ENJOY!

Other variations you could try:

• Bacon
• Spinach
• Leek and goat cheese
• Ham and asparagus

The list is really endless!



* The Best Pie Dough
(8- or 9-inch Single Pie Shell)

When rolling out the dough, roll to a thickness of about 1/8-inch thick (about the thickness of two quarters).

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled
3–4 tablespoons ice water

1. Mix flour, salt and sugar in food processor fitted with steel blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, tossing to coat butter with some flour. cut butter into flour with five 1-second pulses. Add shortening and continue cutting in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal with butter bits no larger than small peas, about four more 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.

2. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of ice water over mixture. With blade of rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press down on dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 1 tablespoon more ice water if dough will not come together. Shape dough into ball with your hands, then flatten into 4-inch-wide disk. Dust lightly with flour, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling.

Megan's Portabello Broccoli Quiche with Tempeh

We have another recipe from Megan. Yay! This one takes about 45 minutes, but is one she makes often, as it is always a crowd (or partner) pleaser. We have Whole Foods to thank for this one. (Who knew they had recipes?)

By the way, I am personally very excited about this recipe because I heart tempeh. Seriously, I think if given a choice between tempeh and any other protein, I would choose tempeh. I know, I'm weird. If you've never cooked or eaten tempeh before, fear not. Think of it as you would tofu. It just has (in my opinion) a much better flavor, texture, and consistency and feels more substantial. (Plus I like it because it is uses the whole soybean, as opposed to tofu which does not, making tempeh a whole food with all of the accompanying health benefits.)

Megan's Portabello Broccoli Quiche with Tempeh

Serves 6

4 ounces tempeh, cut into bite-size squares
2 tablespoons shiitake mushroom sauce, or teriyaki sauce
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups Portabello mushrooms, chopped
1 cup broccoli flowers, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon basil
1 tablespoon organic extra virgin olive oil
pinch of salt
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
4 eggs
1/2 cup yogurt or soy yogurt
1/2 cup plain soymilk
salt, to taste, if desired
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
1/2 cup grated white cheese, such as provolone, Swiss, or soy cheese
3 thinly sliced red pepper rings

Marinate the tempeh in mushroom or teriyaki sauce for 1/2 hour. Sauté in oil until browned. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sauté the onion, mushrooms, and broccoli in olive oil for 7 minutes with salt and pepper. Add this to the tempeh. In a separate bowl, whip together the eggs with the yogurt and soymilk. Add the tempeh veggie mixture, seasoning with salt, if desired. Pour into pie shell. Top with grated cheese. Lay the red pepper rings over the top and bake for 45 minutes. Allow this to cool for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Zee's Vegetarian Lasagna

A reader, Zee, has submitted a recipe for what sounds like a great vegetarian lasagna. As some of you know, I myself was a vegetarian for 10 years, until I had a craving for steak 7 years ago to which I just had to give in. I've been happily giving into it ever since. (Though I am very particular about where my meat comes from, what it was fed, and how it was raised.)

But because of my vegetarian roots, I am still a huge fan of faux meat, finding it oddly fascinating and satisfying. And if you read my weekly menu plans, you already know that we eat mostly vegetarian in Casa Dena, simply because it is easier, cheaper, and generally more healthy. That and sometimes I get grossed out when I have to cook meat with my bare hands, so I try to keep it to a minimum. Cooking with meat I can trust does help with the ick factor, though.

So I thank Zee for her submission and hope to get more from readers!

Zee's notes: This recipe isn't quite a veggie lasagna, per se. It's more of a fake meat lasagna. I'm vegetarian, but I missed my mom's lasagna from when I was growing up, so my mom and I came up with this recipe! It's quick and easy and tastes like home.

It's basically your typical lasagna recipe with a few twists. Here are my ingredients:

9 lasagna noodles
Mozzarella (grated) - be sure to save a few thin slices for the top! (something I always forget)
Ricotta
Parmesan
Egg
A jar of your favorite red sauce (I tend to use one with chunks of tomatoes in it to add more texture)
A tube of Gimme Lean(tm) fake sausage (it comes just like tubed sausage - you have to brown it and everything! - can be found where you'd find tofu and other Veggie friendly options)
Parsley
Maple syrup

Cook noodles according to package directions. Brown "sausage" then add red sauce and a little maple syrup (sounds weird, but the syrup gives it a little sweet tang that I love).

Mix grated mozzarella, ricotta, egg, and parsley in a bowl.

Layer thus: smear the bottom of your casserole dish with 1/3 of your "meat" mixture, cover with three noodles, add blobs of cheese mixture on top of noodles. Rinse, repeat until your noodles are gone (three layers). Meat, noodles, cheese.

On the top, along with your little blobs of cheese, add your slices of mozzarella and some grated parmesan, covering noodles as completely as possible to avoid burning.

Cook at 350F for about 30 minutes or until your cheese is all bubbly.

Hope you enjoy!

Robin's Homemade Chicken Tikka Masala

Remember my friend Robin? There is a reason she's one of my food heroes. She's a tester for America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated! Did I tell you or did I tell you.

Turns out she was inspired to make homemade Indian food last week, too, but her recipe is...well, let's just say there's no jarred simmer sauces involved. Her recipe sounds delicious, so I'm sharing it here on what has turned out to be Indian Food Monday.

Robin's Homemade Chicken Tikka Masala

Robin's note: I tested Chicken Tikka Masala for Cook's Illustrated and although it doesn't match the restaurant version, it's still damn good and 2 lbs. of chicken means you are not fighting over the 8 skimpy pieces take-out places usually serve you. Make the whole friggin batch because it makes good lunches for the next day....

This dish is best when prepared with whole-milk yogurt, but low-fat yogurt can be substituted. For a spicier dish, do not remove the ribs and seeds from the chile. If you prefer, substitute 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper for the garam masala. The sauce can be made ahead, refrigerated for up to 4 days in an airtight container, and gently reheated before adding the hot chicken. Serve with basmati rice.

INGREDIENTS
Chicken Tikka
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon table salt
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts , trimmed of fat
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (see note above)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Masala Sauce
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion , diced fine (about 1 1/4 cups)
2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 fresh serrano chile , ribs and seeds removed, flesh minced (see note above)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon garam masala (see note above)
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

See Illustrations at Cook's Illustrated for Chicken Tikka Masala

1. FOR THE CHICKEN: Combine cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt in small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with spice mixture, pressing gently so mixture adheres. Place chicken on plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. In large bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, garlic, and ginger; set aside.

2. FOR THE SAUCE: Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream and return to simmer. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm.

3. While sauce simmers, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heating element) and heat broiler. Using tongs, dip chicken into yogurt mixture (chicken should be coated with thick layer of yogurt) and arrange on wire rack set in foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Broil chicken until thickest parts register 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer and exterior is lightly charred in spots, 10 to 18 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking.

4. Let chicken rest 5 minutes, then cut into 1-inch chunks and stir into warm sauce (do not simmer chicken in sauce). Stir in cilantro, adjust seasoning with salt, and serve.