Just Like the Stumbling Goat

Seattle has a two-year old fundraiser called "Celebrated Chefs" - I don't want to endorse the program, so I'm not going explain it, but part of the program produces a cookbook compilation of recipes from fine local restaurants. The cookbooks are nice quality with great photos, but while most of the dishes would be things I would enjoy eating, probably only 20% were dishes I would order in the restaurant, and fewer than 1% were recipes I would ever consider preparing for myself.

There were a couple that stood out in Version II of the Celebrated Chefs cookbook though, and when I stumbled across this salmon recipe from the Stumbling Goat Bistro, I was sure I had a winner.

These beets are incredible, and would be delicious as accompaniment to many different dishes, but they are quite outstanding with the salmon.

Pan-Seared Salmon with Anise Glazed Beets (version as printed)

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 salmon fillet pieces, about 6 ounces each, skin removed

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cups lightly packed watercress, rinsed, dried, and trimmed

1 small fennel bulb, trimed, halved, cored, and sliced thinly

freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 large or 2 medium red beets (about 8 ounces), trimed

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup champagne or white wine vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons anise or fennel seeds

Put beets in a pan of cold salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until beets are tender (50-60 minutes). Keep beets covered with water throughout cooking, add more hot water as needed if necessary. Drain and let cool, then peel away skin. Slice in half, the slice halves cross-wise into 1/4 inch slices.

Combine sugar, water, vinegar, and seeds in medium saucepan.  Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce to medium-law heat and simmer until mixture becomes a thick syrup, about 20 minutes. Strain into a medium bowl. Toss beets gently in syrup.

Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add salmon and cook until nicely browned on both sides, 2-3 minutes per side.

Arrange beet slices in the center of each plate. Drizzle plate with olive oil. Set aslmon atop beets, drizzle plate with syrup, beading syrup with oil. Combine watercress and fennel in a medium bowl, and lemon juice and toss to coat. Plate alongside salmon.

Photo from the Celebrate Chefs, Volume II cookbook, page 94.

I made this recipe for 3 people, using 3 salmon fillets and 3 medium beets, but the same amount of syrup. I still had way more than I needed for serving, and ended up dumping it out afterwards, although I probably could have saved it for a week or two and used it to glaze more beets or even other vegetables like carrots.

The fish could be prepared to your preference. I chose to bake it in a 350 oven alongside barley that I served with this meal. I just squeezed a bit of fresh lemon on the fillets, and a bit of salt and pepper. If you leave on the skin during cooking, be sure to remove it before serving, or do not serve the fillet directly on top of the beets.

I didn't use watercress, because we had a spinach salad to go with the meal. Instead, I just tossed the fennel bulb slices and some of the dill-like springs with lemon juice and a touch of oil, and served it on top.

To avoid waste and to pick-up the same flavor notes throughout the meal, I diced the fennel stalks and used them in place of some onion in a barley recipe of my grandmothers. The version below is the adaption I created for this meal, but would definitely repeat. The fennel flavor is subtle and would compliment lots of dishes, or could be substituted back for all onion.

Baked Barley

serves 6

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped fennel stalks

1/2 cup chopped onion

3-4 chopped baby portabello mushrooms

2-3 teaspoons fennel leaves (fine, threadlike herbal top-portion)

1 cup barley

3 cups chicken broth

Melt butter in a medium skillet. Add fennel and onion and saute 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and saute until tender. Stir in fennel leaves and barley, and transfer to 1 1/2 quart casserole baking dish.  Pour broth over, cover, and bake at 325 for 75-90 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle with toasted pine nuts.

Pumpkin Party Menus

I love fall. It could be the self-absorbed only child in me (my birthday is mid-October). More likely it's the shortening of the days and chilling of the air, both signals that it's time to spend more time indoors... and what better way to spend time inside when it is cold, dark, and rainy out than to turn up the oven and create warm, soothing smells and tastes.

I had a birthday party every year until I was 17, far longer than any of my friends were sending out invitations, decorating cake, and planning party favors. Eventually as an adult, I was able to transition the "birthday party" into a party around the same time of year, where guests aren't informed that I am the reason for the celebration, but are still drawn into my home for a party. To be sure the center of attention remains on me, it's important to offer the most delectable and charming of refreshments to inspire [pumpkin] fields full of compliments.

I developed these two menus for what I called the "Pumpkin Party." Celebrating with food and friends all the beautiful colors, textures, warmth, and bounty that fall offers is plenty of reason for a party.

Mix and match recipes from these menus, or add and create your own, but don't wait to jump into fall with tempting tastes of tummy-warming treats!

Black Bean-Pumpkin Dip with Pita Chips

   1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree

   1 1/2 cups canned black beans

   2 cloves garlic

   1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

   1 teaspoon ground cumin

   2 tablespoons olive oil

   2 tablespoons lemon juice

   salt and pepper to taste

   In food processor, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.  Season with salt and peppper to taste, and serve with pita chips.

Pumpkin Seed Flatbread

Mixed Greens with Apples, Dates, and Curried Pumpkin Seeds
   Use your favorite greens, such as mixed field greens, red leaf lettuce, or other combinations that include shades of bright green, dark green, and deep purple.
   Slice or cube a crisp, red-skinned eating apple such as Fuji, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, or Jonagold. Leave some skin on every chunk for color.
   Cut up about 1 date per serving - kitchen shears work best for cutting sticky dates.
   Toss above with a dressing of:
      1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
      3 tablespoons minced shallots
      2 teaspoons dijon mustard
      2 teaspoons honey
      1/2 cup olive oil
      (makes enough for 12)
   Sprinkle salad with curried pumpkin seeds.
Curried Pumpkin Soup with Yams and Cauliflower

Serves 8-12 as a side
1/2 head cauliflower broken into small bite-size pieces

1 15-oz can garbanzo beans mashed to a paste with a fork

2 tablespoons olive oil

1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

1 small or medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons yellow curry powder

2 14-oz cans vegetable or chicken broth

1 10-oz package frozen cooked sqaush

2 large yams, chopped into bite-size pieces

yogurt and cilantro for garnish (optional)

In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat olive oil with crushed red pepper and add

onion; saute until tender. Stir in curry powder to taste. Add broth and yams

and simmer until yams are easily pierced with a fork (20-30 minutes). Add

squash (does not need to be defrosted) and cauliflower and simmer/boil until

desired consistency (20-40 minutes). Stir in garbanzo paste. Ladel into bowls

and garnish as desired.

Farfalle with Roasted Butternut Squash & Sun-Dried Tomatoes
2 lb cubed butternut squash (this time of year, Trader Joes and Costco both sell refrigerated, pre-cubed butternut squash)

6 oz sundried tomatoes, packed in oil

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 lb Farfalle (bowtie) pasta

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup cream


Preheat oven to 425.  Toss all vegetables and rosemary in baking dish. There is probably enough of the seasoned oil from the tomatos, but if not, add a little extra olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. Bake, stirring gently every 10 minutes, approximately 30 minutes until squash is tender.  While roasting, cook farfalle according to package directions.

In separate pan, melt butter.  Stir in flour until smooth, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium, and stir in cream until smooth.  Return to a boil until sauce thickens slightly.  It will still be thin.  Season with white pepper and a dash of nutmeg. 

Toss squash mixture with pasta and sauce.  Serve with parmesan.

Smoked Salmon Pizzettas with Goat Cheese, Onion, and Dill
   Use Trader Joes whole wheat pizza dough or your favorite crust. Roll out dough as thinly as possible (about 1/8" thick.)
   I spread the raw dough with a very thin layer of parsley pesto (follow your favorite basil pesto recipe by substitute parsley for the basil).
   Crumble goat cheese atop the pesto.
   Sprinkle with freshly chopped dill to taste.
   Layer with flakes of smoked salmon and carmelized onions (put 3 pounds sliced white onions and 1/2 cup butter in your crock pot on low for 12-20 hours - you will melt at the amazing carmelized onions this produces).


This can be assembled to this stage early in the day, the cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  When ready to serve, bake for 10 minutes at 425. Cut into appetizer squares.

Butternut Squash Lasagne

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Caramel Frosting and Whipped Chocolate Filling
Use Caramel Frosting from Joy of Cooking and Whipped Chocolate Ganache from The Cake Bible to assemble the pumpkin spice cake layers from the cake recipe linked in the title.
Peanut Butter cookies


Snickerdoodle Cookies (can be vegan)
1 cup margarine (I've never tried this recipe with butter, because I love the chewy center these cookies have.)
1 cup sugar
1 5/6 cup flour
1 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 tsp baking soda
dash salt


Cream sugar and margarine until fluffy. Add dry ingredients and mix. Roll balls of dough in cinnamon sugar, and bake 8-12 minutes at  350 degrees.  These cookies do not stay fresh for long.
Note that these do not contain eggs.

Pumpkin Sugar Cookies
Roll out dough and cut with pumpkin shaped cookie cutter.

Pumpkin Cheesecake
You can also bake your favorite cheesecake as bars in a 9x13 foil-lined pan and cut into squares. Increase your crust recipe by 1 1/2, and reduce baking time by about 1/3 - watch carefully.
Pumpkin Spice Bundt with Buttermilk Glaze

 

Potato Leek Saffron Soup and Golden Beet Soup

I fully embraced Fall this week with two large stockpots of soup; plenty to warm our tummies and still have leftovers for lunch and more for the freezer.

Vellutata di Patate (Potato and Saffron Soup)

This is a recipe from La Spiga restaurant in Seattle, that I found in the Celebrated Chefs, Volume 2 cookbook. Potato-Leek soup (vichyssoise) is a classic, but I liked how saffron and curry powder in this recipe add a heightened touch of sophistication.

Serves 6-8

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 leeks, white and pale green parts only, split, cleaned, and sliced
2 pounds (about 4 large) yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 quarts beal of beef stock or broth
1 bay leaf, preferably fresh
salt
2 pinches saffron threads
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley

Melt butter in stockpot over medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and cook 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Add wine and bring to a boil. Simmer 3-5 minutes.

Add all but 1/2 cup of stock to the pan. Add bay and good pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer to until potatoes are tender, 12-15 minutes.

While potatoes simmer, warm reserved stock then add saffron. Remove from heat and set aside to steep.

Remove bay leaf from soup, then puree until smooth (immersion blender is great for this!) Add safrron broth, cream, curry powder, and parsley. Reheat, salt to taste, and serve with additional parsley as garnish.

This is the photo from the cookbook. Unfortunately, the recipe doesn't say how to make
that delectable looking garnish, which I assume is saffron oil, but presumably it's just
saffron threads dissolved in olive oil. I didn't do that this time, but I think it's looks
positively bejeweled, and I'd love to try it. I will definitely make this soup again.

Golden Beet Soup
Serves 6 as first course

3 tablespoons butter
1/4 medium/large red onion, diced
dark green part of 1 large leek, sliced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
4 medium golden beets, peeled and cut into even wedges
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons sherry wine
3 tablespoons Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Melt butter in large heavy saucepan. Stir in onion and leeks, and cook until softened, about 6 minutes. Add ginger, lemon, beets, and broth. Bring to boil, then simmer until beets are tender (about 30 minutes.)

Alternatively, roast whole beets. Wrap beets tightly in foil and roast in 400 degree oven for 50-60 minutes. You should be able to slide a skewere through the foil to test for doneness. Beets can be roasted a day in advance. To make soup, simply slide skin off beets, cut in half, and add with broth. No need to cook, just bring to a boil.

While soup is cooking, mix together parsley and yogurt to make a brightly colored thick paste for garnish.

Puree the soup (an immersion blender works great for this, or use a blender or food processor.) Stir in the sherry then ladel into bowls and garnish with a teaspoon of parsley yogurt.

This photo is by Lisa Hubbard for Bon Appetit magazine. I modified my recipe from the published version to create what is posted above, but the soup was the same visually. The soup in the photo is garnished with a puree of plain, steamed beet greens. This is great if your beets come fresh from the market and you want to use both the root and the greens together.

Yummy Yammy Biscuits

I am not much a fan of biscuits, but every once in a while I make them for my husband who adores them. Last weekend I came across this recipe in the Seattle Times for sweet potato biscuits and thought that might be a good compromise for trying a new recipe but making one of Will's childhood favorites.

Instead of sweet potato, I used a garnet yam, and I love the autumny color they have even after baking! There are little flecks of orange akin to carrots in a carrot cake, but almost like little juicy gems of beta carotene. 

I cut back on the sugar in the recipe, because I was planning to serve these with dinner. Iused 1/2 cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon maple syrup. I thought they still came out too sweet, but Will loved them. I also added some cayenne pepper and Chinese five spice powder to the dough before baking. All these flavors compliment the yams really well and make for a delightful, warm fall treat. Just make sure that those spices will go with whatever entree you are serving.

The recipe warns that these biscuits aren't quite as flakey (softer and more doughey) than a traditional biscuit, and Will commented the same (I'm not enough of a connaiseur to even know a "good" biscuit if I tried one!) But he also said he loves them, which I know is true due to the fact that completely against precendent, he ate the first two without even any butter!

Kitchen Gadgets

Garlic Mincer
I didn't think I would like this, because I thought it would be one of those tools that is more trouble than the task it is trying to simplify. But I actually now consider it to be a "must have."

It consists of a very sharp series of blades which are powered by rolling the device with your palm along the countertop. The blades are housed in a clear plastic case with a trap door through which you insert the garlic cloves. It is very well-designed in how it fits in your palm, and the wheels are very smooth. It is also very easy to clean, simply rinse and allow to air dry. The one thing that is a bit of a hassle is removing the minced garlic from the housing once it's been chopped - I use a butter knife or paring knife to just run along the edges and between the blades to lift out the minced. I consider this modestly tedious task equivalent to the tedium of the sticky scraping off a cutting board that regular garlic mincing requires.

The best part is that this creates garlic that's minced much more finely and evenly than I could do with a knife. Another boon? This is sold by Chefn, a Seattle company.

Eggplant Experimentation Extravaganza

I have only used eggplant a couple of times. I frequently come across recipes calling for it that sound good, but when I read all the steps involved in salting and draining and drying etc etc etc I simply become discouraged and write it off as too much trouble. Recently I succumbed to the glossy, rich plumpness. Once home though, I invested hours sorting through recipes and cookbooks trying to find just the right thing to make. If it's as much effort as I remember, I want it to be really good.

I narrowed my search down to two finalists (with a couple pretty high contenders saved for the future). Even down to the point when I had half the eggplant cut into cubes, I was still waffling between which recipe I would follow.  When I saw how many cubes just half the eggplant made, I realized I had enough ingredients to do BOTH recipes!

The tones and hues were similar enough that I ended up serving both recipes together side-by-side. I had a favorite, but it was very close and even for a more carefully planned dinner party, I might again prepare the recipes together.

These are the two raw recipes, with my notes following.

Cumin Scented Eggplant with Pomegranate and Cilantro

This was the less time-intensive recipe of the two, with fewer ingredients so I thought it would less interesting. I was wrong! The simplicity (of the flavors, not of the prepration!) is probably exactly what makes it so special. I did use a lot of dishes though... a large bowl to soak, and a small bowl to weigh down the eggplant during soaking, then the collander for draining followed by the cast iron skillet for browning, and finally the cookie sheet for baking. Nevertheless, this offers something that other dishes I've made does not; an intensity of each of the types of flavor but a perfect balance between each so that they truly compliment each other. What seems espeically unique is that each layer is pretty bold, often a finely-tuned balance is achieved from subtlety yet in this dish the rich creaminess of the eggplant foundation meets a smokey spiciness from the seasonings followed by the tart and tangy pomegranate molasses finished with the fresh herbality of cilantro. I made a 1/4 recipe (used 1/2 of my 1 1/2 pound eggplant) and followed the instructions exactly except for the raw-garlic finish.  See my presentation notes which follow.  

Split Peas with Eggplant Ratatouille

I took some liberties with the eggplant as printed in this recipe, but followed instructions exactly for the peas. I will have to think of some other ways to serve this puree because it is delicious. It has a vibrant color, and a depth of flavor that is unexpected given the short list of ingredients. The contrast from the carmelized vegetable topping is truly lovely and in full Fall spirit.

I sauteed 3/4 pound drained, cubed eggplant in olive oil, then added two diced, seeded roma tomatoes and two cloves garlic, minced. I cooked it until all the liquid had evaporated from the tomatoes, then stirred in about 1/2 teaspoon ground oregano, ground black pepper, and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar.  There is a fair amount of sweetness here but against a garnish of sour yogurt it is a fantastic sensation.

Making the meal:

While I didn't intend to eat these two eggplant dishes side by side, they ended up working quite well together. I did a squiggle of pomegranate molasses across the plate first, then topped with a spoonful of pea puree near the center of the plate, and topped with the ratatouille. Then I started blending the lines between the two dishes, and topped it with Greek yogurt and cilantro leaves. Alongside, I placed wedges of grilled mediterranean flatbread, rubbed a clove of roasted garlic. Layered next to the flatbread were a few slices of the roasted eggplant, which we ate atop the flatbread.
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Three days later, I extended my eggplant exploits. While it could potentially become tiresome to eat a lot of the same thing back-to-back, I find that I really enjoy getting to use one ingredient in mulitple ways so that I can really gain an understanding of it's capacity. For example, in the top photo, tasting the roasted/baked eggplant side-by-side with the simmered sauce.

As I said, I had narrowed down my top two recipe finalists, but when I was at the market later in the week, and saw some lovely asian eggplants, I quickly recalled one of the other selections that had been passed over in the first round, and decided to go ahead and pick up a few while eggplant was fresh in my mind.

The recipe I used it in was Spicy Glazed Eggplant, which I served with sushi rice and a dish that I wouldn't recommend as a complimentary menu selection but which worked well to balance out the colors and nutrition of the meal; beet greens with peaches.

The sushi rice was the perfect pairing with the eggplant, which was fortunate, because it was my first time making it, and I was conducting the dish as a trial run for a party I'm planning later this month. The eggplant dish was very flavorful, though I'm not sure it took full advantage of the subtlety of taste and especially texture that the asian eggplant can offer over the standard globe. It called for "Japanese seven spice powder" (shichimi togarashi) which I didn't have and frankly had never heard of. I was able to find a number of recipes online for how to mix it oneself, and the ingredient lists seemed for the most part to reach a consensus, so I believe that I came pretty close in my attempt to recreate it. What I neglected to note was that as I mixed a few tablespoons of the spice recipe, I only needed 1/8 teaspoon for the eggplant, but I dumped it all in. Nevertheless, we didn't find it too strong, and had plenty of rice to balance the intensity of each mouthful.

Because these two items we basically just black and white on the plate, I searched my crisper for some color, and instead of trying to meld flattering flavors, I reached for the couple items which were most likely to loose their freshness if they waiting another day to be consumed. This ended up being the greens from some golden beets (the root lasts much longer than the tops) and a peach.

Beet Green and Peach Saute
serves 2

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

greens from 4 beets, chiffonaded

1 peach, peeled and diced

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil, add the greens and cook until wilted, stir in the peach and saute over medium heat another 2-3 minutes until peaches are soft and have released their juices. The sweet and tangy of the peach plus the slightest bitterness of the greens left this dish perfectly dressed without even needing salt or pepper. Would be really good with a hearty grain (quinoa? bulger?) as a summer salad.

Knucklehead Pumpkin

Have you seen these before?  Yes, they are called Knucklehead pumpkins. I saw these today at Ballard Market, and discovered they are the largest variety of the Superfreak Series of pumpkins; the middle sized version is called Goose Bumps II.