Food, Photography and Bons Mots

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Lasagna And Nothing But An iPhone: Yikes!
February 15, 2020

Lasagna And Nothing But An iPhone: Yikes!

  When the going gets tough, there is nothing more comforting than a quiet table, a mellow glass of Malbec, an ooey-gooey plate of lasagna and the soft snoring sounds of a sweet pup snoozing nearby. That kind of comfort is just what I’ve desperately…

Cheese, Main Dishes, Pasta, Uncategorized, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Cabbage and White Bean Minestrone
February 4, 2020

Cabbage and White Bean Minestrone

Brrrr. It doesn’t take Punxsutawney Phil to tell us it’s soup time.   Cabbage and White Bean Minestrone Save Recipe Print Recipe My Recipes My Lists My Calendar Ingredients2 T. extra virgin olive oil1 large onion (finely chopped)1 carrot (cut into medium chunks)1 celery stalk (cut…

Beans, Pasta, Vegetables, Vegetarian
A Signature Dish: Spiced Chickpea Stew With Coconut and Turmeric
February 1, 2020

A Signature Dish: Spiced Chickpea Stew With Coconut and Turmeric

For Julia Child it was Coq Au Vin.

Marcella Hazan’s tour de force was her amazing Tomato Sauce.

Chez Panisse’s Alice Waters rocked the culinary world with her Baked Goat Cheese With Baby Lettuces.

“A signature dish is a recipe that identifies an individual chef or restaurant. Ideally it should be unique and allow an informed gastronome to name the chef in a blind tasting. It can be thought of as the culinary equivalent of an artist finding their own style, or an author finding their own voice,” according to Wikipedia.

 

This delightful (and delicious) Spiced Chickpea Stew With Coconut and Turmeric is Alison Roman’s signature dish. Roman (pictured below demonstrating her impressive refrigerator storage skills–skills that, lamentably, she and I share)  writes for the New York Times food page and is the author of the excellent cookbook Nothing Fancy. As I write this, her recipe has a five-star rating on the New York Times food page with 8644 hits. That means that a whole lot of people love this dish–me included.

Here is the recipe.

Spiced Chickpea Stew With Coconut and Turmeric

February 1, 2020
: 4 to 6
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Ingredients
  • 1/4 C. olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves (chopped)
  • 1 large yellow onion (chopped)
  • 1 two-inch piece ginger (finely chopped)
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 1 1/2 t. ground turmeric
  • 1 t. red-pepper flakes (or to your taste)
  • 2 fifteen-ounce cans chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
  • 2 fifteen-ounce cans full-fat coconut milk
  • 2 C. vegetable stock
  • 1 bunch Swiss chard (or kale or spinach--stems removed and cut into bite-sized pieces)
  • 1 C. mint leaves (for garnish)
  • Yogurt (for garnish)
  • Chopped Red Onion (for garnish)
Directions
  • Step 1 Heat olive oil in a large soup pot and saute garlic, onion and ginger in the hot oil until the vegetables are translucent and beginning to brown. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Step 2 Add turmeric, red-pepper flakes and drained and rinsed chickpeas. This is a spicy stew. You can reduce the amount of red pepper flakes you use if you want to tone down the heat.  Cook until the chickpeas begin to break down and become a bit crisp. This will take 8 to 10 minutes. (Remove one cup of the cooked chickpeas to use as a garnish when you serve the stew and set aside.)
  • Step 3 Crush some of the chickpeas in the pot using either a wooden spoon or an immersion blender. You want to do this so that the stew will thicken as you cook it down.
  • Step 4 Add coconut milk and vegetable stock to the pot. Your stew will be very liquid at this point. You need to trust that it will thicken as it cools down. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the stew is thickened. This will take 30 to 35 minutes. You can cook your stew longer if you need to thicken it more.
  • Step 5 Add chard to the soup. Cook briefly until the chard softens. This step should only take 3 to 7 minutes.
  • Step 6 Taste for seasoning. Serve garnished with yogurt, reserved chickpeas, mint leaves, etc.

 

This recipe is adapted from a New York Times recipe that appears here.

Beans, Main Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Persian Barley and Vegetable Soup: Feed Your Inner Gladiator
January 27, 2020

Persian Barley and Vegetable Soup: Feed Your Inner Gladiator

It’s cold. It’s winter here in Southern California (sort of). Clearly, it’s time for the warm comfort of a bowl of steaming hot soup. Here is a soup recipe you might not have considered: Persian Barley and Vegetable Soup with Dried Cranberries. It is delicious…

Soups, Vegetables, Vegetarian
Flourless Chocolate Cake and a Happy Birthday Wish To A Good Friend
January 25, 2020

Flourless Chocolate Cake and a Happy Birthday Wish To A Good Friend

Happy birthday to one of the kindest people I know–my neighbor Gene. Gene, a retired high school science teacher, avid gardener and gourmand, is a loyal a supporter of this blog.  He also is celebrating his 87th birthday this month. Way to go, Gene! Gene…

Cakes, Chocolate, Desserts, Vegetarian
Getting Smashed: Russet Potatoes With Horseradish Sauce
January 17, 2020

Getting Smashed: Russet Potatoes With Horseradish Sauce

 

I’m a potato person. Surely it is my Irish heritage. I love mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, potato cakes and on and on.

I think if I ever were to post on one of the ubiquitos dating sites, I would have to be honest. My ad would read something like: ” Hot Irish girl with green eyes, cute dog and steady pension. Loves long walks on the beach, sunsets and baked potatoes. Your fries or mine? “

So, you guessed it. Today’s recipe is for a potato dish: Crispy Smashed Russets With Green Horseradish Sauce. The potatoes are boiled and then smashed and roasted in butter to give them a crispy crust and a buttery smooth interior. Then they are served on a bed of creamy and herby sauce. Pretty wonderful.

 

Crispy Smashed Russets With Green Horseradish Sauce

January 17, 2020
Print This
Ingredients
  • For the Potatoes:
  • 4 medium russet potatoes (scrubbed)
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 3 T. clarified butter (melted)
  • 3 T. grapeseed oil
  • 1 medium sweet onion (thick sliced)
  • 1/2 t. salt (divided)
  • 1/4 t. freshly-ground pepper (divided)
  • Garnish with a spig of fresh dill and sliced red pepper
  • For the Sauce:
  • 1 C. packed fresh parsley
  • 1 C. packed fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 C. fresh chives (chopped)
  • 3 T. chopped fresh dill
  • 2 T. prepared horseradish
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 2/3 C. sour cream
  • 2/3 C. low-fat plain yogurt
  • 2 t. lemon zest
  • 2 T. lemon juice
  • 1 t. ground toasted coriander seeds
  • 1/8 t. sugar
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
Directions
  • Step 1 Put potatoes, bay leaves and rosemary in a large pot with enough water to cover the potatoes by about 3 inches. Bring to a simmer and simmer (partially covered) for about 40 minutes until potatoes are tender. Once potatoes are cooked, remove from pot and allow to dry for about 15 minutes until potatoes are easy to handle. Alternatively, steam potatoes on a rack in an Instant Pot.  
  • Step 2 Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
  • Step 3 Combine butter and oil. Pour half of the butter mixture into a large rimmed baking sheet. Slice onions into thick slices, place on the baking dish and toss with the melted butter. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and place face down on the baking sheet. Use the bottom of a large glass or bowl to gently smash each potato. Brush smashed potatoes with the remaining butter.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast potatoes until browned on the bottom for 25 to 30 minutes.
  • Step 4 After 25 to 30 minutes of roasting, flip the potatoes over and continue roasting for about 15 more minutes until they are golden brown on the top. Be careful not to let the onions (or potatoes) burn.
  • Step 5 Prepare the sauce. Combine parsley, cilantro, chives, dill, horseradish, garlic and salt in a food processor. Process until finely chopped. Add sour cream, yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, coriander, sugar and cayenne. Mix until smooth
  • Step 6 Spread room temperature sauce on the bottom of a serving dish. Arrange the smashed potatoes over the top of the sauce.Garnish.

This recipe was adapted from an Eating Well recipe that appears here.

Potatoes, Side Dishes, Uncategorized, Vegetables, Vegetarian
A Cabbage Roll By Any Other Name: Golabki
January 14, 2020

A Cabbage Roll By Any Other Name: Golabki

Lahanodolmades. Kaalikaaryle. Bai Cai Juan. Golabki. It’s Lahanodolmades in Greece. It’s Kaalikaaryle in Finland. It’s Bai Cai Juan in China. It’s Golabki in Poland. Turns out, cabbage rolls are “a thing”  just about everywhere. And, it’s with good reason. They are delicious! So here is…

Apples, Main Dishes, Potatoes, Side Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian
A Slice of Sunshine: Lemony Turmeric Tea Cake
January 6, 2020

A Slice of Sunshine: Lemony Turmeric Tea Cake

Who doesn’t need a bit of sunshine to cut through the winter gloom right about now? The weather is iffy and the world news is dreadful. Here’s what you need to do to regroup. Cue the music:  “I Can See Clearly Now.”  That’s Johnny Nash’s 1970s number…

Cakes, Desserts, Vegetarian
S’Wonderful: Shaved Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad
December 29, 2019

S’Wonderful: Shaved Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad

OK. Let’s get the full disclosure out of the way.

I have a big problem with some brassicas.

Put a plate of kale (or mustard greens or turnips or Brussels sprouts) in front of me and the color drains from my face.

I’m not proud of this, particularly because brassicas are healthy nutritional powerhouses. (In my defense, I do enjoy cauliflower and broccoli.)

It’s not that I haven’t tried to love brassicas. I really have. In fact, I keep getting roped into that “but you haven’t enjoyed it prepared this way” trap. Over and over and over.

And so it was with great trepidation, that I tried Hetty McKinnon’s Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad With Caesar Dressing.

But…I kept reminding myself…this was a Hetty Mckinnon recipe. Hetty has never let me down with a recipe. (Here are two McKinnon recipes I’ve posted before on Blue Cayenne: Fennel and Cannelini Bean Salad and Cauliflower With Fried Lentils and Spinach Yogurt.)

And…drumroll…I loved it!

Maybe it was the shaving of the Brussels sprouts that got me through the ordeal dish. How bad can it be to taste a thinly-sliced Brussels sprout after all? Or, maybe it was the wonderful garlicky Caesar dressing–a dressing so good that anyone could enjoy dipping anything into it. (No anchovies lost their lives in this dressing, by the way.)

Whatever the reason, this is an outstanding salad.

Outstanding.

Who knew I could love brussels sprouts?

Now, bring on the kale.  Or, not.

 

Shaved Brussels Sprout Caesar

December 29, 2019
: 4-6 Servings
Print This
Ingredients
  • Caesar Dressing
  • 6 garlic cloves (unpeeled) plus 1/2 garlic clove (very finely chopped)
  • 1 C. whole egg mayonnaise
  • 1/3 C. sour cream
  • 1 T. salted capers (rinsed and chopped)
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 3-4 t. water
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • Salad
  • 1/2 pound stale bread (torn into 1-inch chunks)
  • 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 lb. Brussels sprouts (trimmed)
  • 1 1/2 15 oz. cans of borlotti beans (almost 2 cups--drained)
  • 1/2 small red onion (very thinly sliced)
  • 1/2 C. flat-leaf parsley leaves (chopped)
  • 1/2 C. basil leaves (roughly torn)
  • 1/2 C. sunflower seeds (toasted)
  • 1/4 C. parmesan (shaved)
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • 1/2 raw garlic clove (finely chopped) (optional)
Directions
  • Step 1 Prepare bread and coat with olive oil and spinkle with salt. Spead bread out on a large baking tray in a single layer and bake in a 400 degree F. preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until bread is golden. Turn bread several times while baking. Set aside to cool.
  • Step 2 To make the Caesar dressing, bake garlic cloves in 400 degree F. oven for 20-25 minutes or until the cloves are very soft. When garlic cloves are baked, remove from oven and peel off papery skins. Put baked cloves into a medium bowl and mash . Add mayonnaise, sour cream, capers, lemon juice and 3-4 t. water. Season to taste with salt and pepper and optional 1/2 chopped fresh garlic clove.
  • Step 3 Shave Brussels sprouts in your food processor (or with a mandoline).
  • Step 4 Combine shaved Brussels sprouts with borlotti beans, red onion, herbs and half of the roasted sunflower seeds. Add the Caesar dressing and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir. Let salad sit for 15-20 minutes for the flavors to marry.
  • Step 5 Serve salad with croutons and parmesan shavings. Sprinkle with remaining sunflower seeds.
  • Step 6 Wow!

You can buy Hetty McKinnon’s book Neighborhood here.

salad, Salad Dressings, Salads, Vegetarian
James Beard’s Persimmon Nut Bread
December 27, 2019

James Beard’s Persimmon Nut Bread

This Persimmon Nut Bread recipe comes from James Beard. Beard shaped American cooking for 40 years. He wrote two dozen cookbooks, wrote a weekly syndicated cooking column, operated an eponymous cooking school in Greenwich Village and lived an altogether colorful life. In 1990, Carl Jerome,…

Breads, Cakes, Desserts, Vegetarian

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