pistachio vinaigrette.

I have a soft spot for well-made salads.  Tender greens tossed with a bright vinaigrette along with some shavings of aged cheese and a handful of toasted nuts makes for the most delicious salad.  I could eat them almost daily with a side of crusty bread to sop up the juices.  The unfortunate thing is that I think I make a terrible salad.  The dressing never coats the lettuce properly or I tear the leaves into pieces that are too large which makes taking a bite very messy.  (I am slowly discovering that the easiest of cooking techniques elude me.)  This has led me to believe I should stick to ordering salads when dinning out.  There I can leave the salad assembly to the professionals.

While out for dinner the other evening the boy and I indulged in a bibb salad with a warm pistachio vinaigrette. The salad arrived at the table looking very simple but with one bite it revealed itself to be very complex in taste.  It was tart one second and spicy the next and the pieces of chopped pistachio found their way into the folds of the lettuce, which left you with a crunchy surprise.  I was smitten and set out to recreate it as soon as possible, which I did the next evening.  (I am impatient).  My version is a little less tart and a little spicier from a combination of pickled jalapenos and spicy honey, which works unbelievably well with pistachios.  I drizzled the vinaigrette on tender green beans since my salad mastery is still not there and it worked exceptionally well.  Consider this an all-purpose vinaigrette. 

Pistachio Vinaigrette

Recipe from NYMagazine

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup + 2 tablespoons raw pistachios

3 – 4 pickled jalapeno slices, diced (depending on how spicy you like it!)

4 teaspoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons Champagne or White Wine vinegar

2 teaspoons Mike’s Hot Honey or Regular Honey

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a small pot, heat olive oil and pistachios together over a low flame until warm.  Place warm pistachios in a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped.  Immediately return pistachios to the olive oil and add your diced jalapenos, and then let sit for ten minutes.  Add lemon juice, vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper. 

roasted red pepper and tomato tart.

We are nearing the final stretch of summer and I feel as if I have yet to accomplish everything I planned on doing and making.  I had visions of weekends spent hiking and swimming.  I thought most evenings would have been spent outdoors with friends - our bellies filled with crusty homemade bread and sparkling wine.  I envisioned subway trips to the outer boroughs where the boy and I would feast on cheap ethnic foods and bottles of cold beer.  Alas, I have not done all of these things which leaves me feeling as if the summer has escaped me but, I am making a conscious effort over the next couple of weeks to try and fulfill a couple more of my summer goals.   I have an ever-growing list of things I wanted to cook this summer one of them being a savory tart and this past weekend seemed like the perfect time to make it. 

Savory summer tarts are a wonderful thing.  They are sturdy enough to handle being transported on picnics and they can be filled with any variety of seasonal ingredients.  I love eating them for dinner with a side salad and a glass of rose.  For a while now I have had visions of a roasted red pepper tart and since red peppers finally appeared at the farmers market last week, it seemed like I had my opportunity make one.  I roasted the peppers until their skins were charred and then I removed the skins and cut the peppers into strips.  I decided on a crust that was made with olive oil instead of butter and that crust seemed like the perfect vehicle for a filling of ricotta and goat cheese, which I blended together with a plethora of herbs.  The filling was topped with the strips of red pepper and cherry tomatoes and the whole thing was baked until the tomatoes burst. The result was both beautiful and delicious.

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Tart

Makes one 8 – 9 inch tart

This olive oil tart crust is my new favorite thing.  It is a cinch to make, tastes amazing and is the perfect vehicle for all sorts of vegetables.  I have a couple of other filling recipes in mind that I will happily share!

Crust

Recipe adopted from Chocolate and Zucchini

166 grams light whole wheat flour, or a 50/50 mix of all pupose and whole wheat flour

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt

¾ teaspoon dried herbs

40 ml olive oil (or the oil of your choice)

80 ml cold water

Combine the flour, salt, and herbs in a medium mixing bowl.  Add the oil and mix with a fork.  Add the water, mix with a dorm until it is absorbed, then knead slightly until the dough comes together in a ball. 

Turn the ball out onto a lightly floured work surface.  Sprinkle a little flour on the ball of dough and on the rolling pin and roll the dough out into a circle large enough to fit your tart pan.  Turn the dough by 45 degrees every time you roll the pin and back, adding a little more flour underneath and on the dough when it seems on the verge of becoming too sticky.  Be quick to avoid overworking the dough. 

Transfer the dough carefully to a prepared pan and line it neatly.  Trim the excess dough, and place the pan in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest. 

For the Filling

2 medium red bell peppers (you can use store bought peppers but not as good!)

1 cup whole milk ricotta

1 cup goat cheese

1 tablespoon chopped basil

2 teaspoons oregano

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

8 cherry tomatoes halved

For the peppers: Turn the oven to 400 degrees and place the peppers on a baking sheet.  Roast, turning occasionally, until the peppers blacken and blister on all sides, about 20 minutes.

Remove the peppers from the oven and place in a medium heatproof bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit until cool enough to handle and the skins easily peel away, about 30 minutes.

Remove and discard the skins, seeds, and membranes of the peppers. Slice into 1/2-inch-thick strips (you should have about 1 cup), transfer to a small bowl, and season with salt, pepper, and olive oil; set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees if you turned if off after making the peppers (or lower it if you didn’t).

For the filling: Place the ricotta, goat cheese, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper in the clean bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Process until the mixture is smooth and combined, about 1 minute.

Remove your tart from the fridge and add the ricotta mixture to the shell, spreading it into an even layer.  Arrange the red pepper slices and tomato halves over the mixture.  Place the tart in the oven and bake until the tomatoes begin to burst and the cheese is golden brown about 20-25 minutes.  Remove the tart from the oven and cool on a wire rack until it reaches room temperature, about 30 minutes. 

plum clafoutis.

I have an ongoing fantasy of quitting my job and moving to upstate New York.  The boy and I would live in and old farm house – one with a wrap around porch and apple trees in the back yard.  We would have 2 dogs and a vegetable garden.  I would have a cellar that would be filled with ball jars of pickled vegetables, several types of homemade jam, and sausage that I was drying.  My wardrobe would consist of faded blue jeans and equally faded chambray shirts.  Sadly, this remains a fantasy as I’ve yet to strike it rich or figure out how I could afford such a vision.  I can’t imagine myself running a profitable farm considering I’ve never farmed before (some ideas are best left to the imagination). 

When I have a strong desire to pretend I’m cooking in my rustic farm house kitchen, I always make a rustic fruit dessert.  Rustic fruit desserts are utterly simple and homey.  They take a very short time to prepare and while they are baking they fill your kitchen with the scent of sugar and spice and fruit.  My favorite summer rustic dessert is a clafoutis.  A clafoutis is a French desert that is traditionally made with cherries but can be made with just about any fruit.  I used plums as they are dominating the farmers markets at the moment but peaches or apricots work equally well.  The fruit sits nestled in a subtly sweet custard and as the dish cooks the fruit softens and releases their juices which caramelizes the top of the dish.  It’s delicious eaten warm from the oven with a dollop of whipped cream.

Plum Clafoutis

Recipe from Flour by Joanne Chang

2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

6 medium plus, pitted and cut into eights, about 5 cups

½ cup granulated sugar

4 eggs

½ cup unbleached all-pupose flour

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

Confectioners sugar for dusting

Position rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 400 desgrees.

Melt the butter in a 9x13 baking dish (I used a 9 inch pie pan which worked perfectly) while the oven is preheating.  Once melted, swirl the dish to coat the bottom and sides with the butter. 

In a medium bowl, toss the plums with ¼ cup of the sugar and then pour into the baking dish, spreading evenly. 

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until blended.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ¼ cup sugar, the flour, and salt.  Whisk the sugar-flour mixture into the eggs.  Then whisk the milk and vanilla and almond extracts into the egg mixture.  Pour the batter over the plums.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the clafoutis is golden brown and puffy.  Let cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.  Dust generously with confectioners sugar and serve warm.  

gnocchi with spicy sausage, tomatoes, and corn.

Cleaning the freezer out has become and epic fail on my part.  Every time I remove one thing, I suddenly make something else that falls into its spot.  Its become a vicious cycle but I’ve come to accept I will never see the back of the freezer again.  Regardless, I continue to make valiant attempts at cleaning it out (more so because my better half insists I do so).  This pasta dish came to fruition because the gnocchi that I had stowed away in the freezer needed to be used.  I also had a single sausage that looked like it was nearing the end of its life and a plethora of vegetables that were looking a little ripe.  I figured if I threw it all together that it would either a very bad meal or a passable meal.  Somehow, the opposite was true and it turned into one of the best weeknight meals I had made in a while.

Gnocchi with Spicy Sausage, Tomatoes, and Corn

Let’s talk about sausage for a minute.  Sausage is a wonderful thing it adds an incredible amount of flavor to a dish and a superb texture.  Sausage can also be very terrible.  Bad sausage is not something anyone should ever experience – it’s usually devoid of flavor with a horrible texture, no one should ever eat that.  I’ve been experimenting with making my own but until I master that I buy it from my favorite butcher in New York – Dickson's Farmstand.  Their sausage is unreal – meaty and rich with a lot of intense flavor.  I love using it in pastas or vegetable dishes since it really adds a lot to the dish.    

1 link spicy Italian sausage, casing removed
2 teaspoons olive oil
½ pint cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
2 ears of corn, kernels cut from cob
2 teaspoons tomato paste
¼ cup creamy gorgonzola
1 teaspoon heavy cream
¼ cup parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste
9-10 oz of gnocchi
¼ fresh basil, thinly sliced

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  In a large saucepan, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil, when hot add the sausage, breaking it up with a wooden spoon.  When beginning to brown and cooked through, stir in the tomato paste and then add in the cherry tomatoes.  Turn the heat to medium low, allowing the tomatoes to cook down and begin to burst about 3-4 minutes.  Once the tomatoes have burst, add in the corn and allow it to cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Salt your water and add in your gnocchi – watch carefully, they should only take about 3 minutes to cook (they will float when ready!).  In your saucepan, add in the gorgonzola, stirring to mix and melt well.  Add in your heavy cream then half the parmesan and half the basil. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary (I found no salt to be necessary as my sausage and cheese were salty enough but it needed a little pepper!).  When gnocchi are cooked, add them to your saucepan, mixing to combine with your sauce.  Top pasta with the remained of the parmesan and basil.

roasted corn with cheese and lime.

This past weekend I was feeling exceptionally lazy which is very rare for me.  I usually spend my weekends working on cooking projects, reading my ever-growing stacks of fashion and food magazines, visiting food and farmers markets to load up on that weeks produce, and spending some (quality?) time at the gym.  I sometimes feel like the energizer bunny on the weekends – I only have two days to get everything done and I tend to go non-stop in an effort to accomplish everything.  At some point, I find myself exhausted, which is what happened this weekend.  I ended up spending the next 48 hours on the couch with the remote in one hand (watching the Olympics) and cookies in the other (I have become addicted to the Olympics it is bordering on an obsession). 

When Sunday night rolled around, I still had not even given a single thought to dinner (I keep thinking that maybe I was ill since I am always thinking about dinner!).  When 6:30 came and went, I knew it was time to do something.  I tore through the freezer in search of the empanadas I had stashed in there and decided the perfect companion for them would be a corn dish since I had several ears languishing in the fridge.  I roasted the ears of corn in the oven in their husks to give them a charred taste and then cut the corn off their cobs.  I then sautéed the corn and when it was cooked through mixed in some diced jalapeno, smoked paprika, chives, lime, and some Spanish cheese.  The result was delicious – it was a neater version of the Mexican corn on the cob I adore.  The flavors worked perfectly together and they all played off one another – the lime gave the perfect amount of acidity, the cheese made it creamy, and the jalapeno gave the dish a wonderful crunchy bite of heat.  The best part was dinner was done at eight so I had plenty more time for watching the Olympics.

Roasted Corn with Cheese and Lime

Recipe from Bon Appétit

Serves 6

6 ears of corn (they suggest yellow but I used bi-color), unhusked

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced

½ - ¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or hot smoked Spanish paprika

2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest

1 lime cut into 4 wedges (zest the lime before cutting!)

1 cup finely grated Manchego or Mahon or aged cheddar

¼ cup thinly sliced chives

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Roast unhusked corn on a baking sheet, turning occasionally, until heated through and crisp- tender, about 15 minutes.  Let cool.  Husk corn and cut kernels from cobs.  Discard cobs.

Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat.  Add corn kernels and sauté until heated through and light golden in spots, 3-5 minutes.  Add butter; stir until melted.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Transfer corn to a large wide bowl or deep platter; sprinkle jalapeno and red pepper flakes (or smoked paprika) over. Squeeze lime wedges over the dish; sprinkle with cheese, chives, and lime zest. 

roasted eggplant dip.

Last week I needed dried cherries for a recipe I was working on and decided since the weather was nice that I would walk down to Sahadis on Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn Heights to pick some up.  Sahadis is a Middle Eastern market that sells pretty much everything.  I don’t allow myself to go very often because every time I do I end up with about 10 items more then I intended to buy (I have no restraint).  This trip was no exception - I found myself leaving with hummus, peppers, Spanish cheese, raw pecans, dark chocolate covered pretzel balls, and of course the dried cherries.  I stopped in Damascus Bakery afterwards for some fluffy pita bread to go with my hummus (and 6 pitas only cost 1 DOLLAR I couldn’t believe it, that was a dollar well spent) and then headed back to work. 

Dinner that night ended up being a wonderful hodgepodge of Middle Eastern foods and the best part of the meal was an eggplant dip I made.  Eggplant dip is one of my favorite things because it tastes richer than it really is – you feel like its an indulgent unhealthy dip but really your eating a vegetable! I made mine by roasting a halved eggplant (and some garlic) that I covered with rosemary, cumin, and red pepper flakes until the eggplant was soft as can be.  I combined it with some olive oil and other spices to make the perfect dip for slathering on warm pits with hummus.

Roasted Eggplant Dip

Recipe adapted from Gourmet

1 small to medium sized eggplant, halved long ways

2 cloves of unpeeled garlic (or more if you love roasted garlic)

¼ teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary

¼ teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ - ½ teaspoon cayenne/red pepper flakes or other spicy pepper flake

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon parsley

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat over to 375 degrees.  Place halved eggplant in a baking dish cut side up. Make shallow half inch incisions all over cut side of the eggplant with the tip of a paring knife.  Add unpeeled garlic to the baking dish.  Sprinkle eggplant with the rosemary, oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, and 2 tablespoons olive oil. 

Bake until garlic and eggplant are very tender (both took about 30 minutes for me but it may be longer.)  If the garlic appears to be cooking faster remove it from the pan and continue cooking the eggplant until fork tender. 

Transfer eggplant to a cutting board and let stand until cool enough to handle.  Scrape out flesh with a spoon and place in a bowl with the garlic cloves.  Add parsley and remaining olive oil, then stir until combines.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve with warmed pita or baguette slices.