Blue Cayenne

It hasn’t worked for me with kale or spirulina, but I’m willing myself to love eggplant. As you know, if you have been reading this blog, eggplant and I have a fraught relationship–a bit like Donald and Melania. Eggplant recipes, especially ones that tout their world-class deliciousness, reach out to me but I don’t always reach back.

This is a very good recipe, again one adapted from the pages of The New York Times. The Times, by the way, has launched its food pages as a separate subscription service. For $5 per month, you can access thousands of recipes from great chefs like Martha Rose Schulman, Melissa Clark and David Tanis. It is a bargain, believe me. I read a lot of food sites (insomniac that I am) and the quality and breadth of the NY Times recipe archive is exceptional.

Here is the eggplant recipe. I loved it. My neighbors Gene and Sarah loved it. You will, too.

Yields 6 Servings

Israeli Couscous, Eggplant and Tomato Gratin

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes My Lists My Calendar

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds eggplant (sliced into rounds about 1/3 inch thick)
• Salt to taste
• 3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 C. cooked Israeli couscous
• 8 ounces fresh spinach (or more)
• 2 C. Julia Child's tomato sauce provencale ( Julia Child's Tomato Sauce Provencale )
• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese (grated--about 1/2 C. tightly packed)
• 6 ounces grated mozzarella cheese (or more)
• 3 ounces feta cheese or ricotta
• Chiffonade-cut fresh basil to garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line your baking sheet with foil and brush the foil with a little oil.
2. Slice eggplant and toss it in salt and 1 T. oil. Place your eggplant slices on your prepared baking sheet. Roast eggplant slices in your oven for 15 minutes. When done, the tops of the eggplant slices will look dry and you will be able to easily pierce the slices with the tines of a fork. Remove the tray of eggplant slices from the oven and, wearing heat-proof gloves, fold the sides of the foil up and over the eggplant to make a sealed packet. Let the packet of eggplant slices sit for 15 minutes; this will permit your eggplant to cook a bit more.
3. Reduce heat in your oven to 375 degrees F.
4. Oil a gratin dish. Prepare Israeli couscous by putting it in a large heated saucepan over medium-high heat. Toast the couscous until it just begins to take on come brown color and it is aromatic. Quickly, add two quarts of water and salt to taste. Boil for 10 minutes. The couscous pasta should be al dente but not mushy when it is ready and there will still be plenty of water in your pan when the couscous is cooked. Drain the couscous and rinse with cool water. Return the drained couscous to the cooking pot, cover it with a dishtowel and the pot lid and let it sit for 10 minutes.
5. Put prepared couscous in a large bowl and add 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce. Spoon the couscous and tomato sauce mixture into your prepared gratin dish to make a layer.
6. Boil water and briefly immerse spinach in the water. Drain spinach, being sure to squeeze out as much water as possible once the spinach has cooked. Spread a thin layer of the spinach over the couscous. Sprinkle crumbled feta or ricotta on top of the spinach layer.
7. Arrange cooked eggplant slices on top of the spinach/couscous/cheese layer. Spoon the remaining tomato sauce over the eggplant and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and grated mozzarella. Sprinkle a scattering of chiffonade sliced fresh basil leaves.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. The dish should be browned and bubbling when it is finished. Let the dish sit on your counter for 15 minutes before serving.

Notes

The original recipe omitted the spinach layer, the feta cheese and the mozzarella. The recipe is very forgiving. As I prepared leftovers, I put a portion of the eggplant gratin in an individual baking dish and grated more mozzarella on the dish. I covered it in foil and baked it at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes. Pretty wonderful.

7.8.1.2

78

https://bluecayenne.com/israeli-couscous-eggplant-and-tomato-gratin

This is my adaptation of a Martha Rose Schulman recipe from The New York Times and the Tomato Sauce Provencale recipe I posted earlier in the week. Here is the link to the original recipe: NY Times: Israeli Couscous, Eggplant and TomatoGratin .

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

Blue Cayenne will be two years old in October.

Over those (almost) two years, Marion Sutton has been one of Blue Cayenne’s (and my) most supportive friends.

I met Marion in one of Nami Aoyagi’s amazing Digital Media Arts classes at The Huntington Beach Adult School. As our friendship grew, we found time to explore our mutual interests in food and photography. We took photography junkets together. We lunched. We shared recipes. We learned how to bake creme brulee together at a Sur La Table class. We supported each other during tough personal times.  Seldom in my life have I known anyone with Marion’s joie de vivre, talent in the kitchen, inner strength… or with such extraordinary cookie recipes. (I still remember the moment when I first tasted one of Marion’s cookies– transcendent cookies laced with oatmeal and nuts and some magical ingredient that I’m sure I will forever chase in my cooking quests–as we bounced around in the backseat of photographer William Hartshorn’s SUV on our way to photograph hot air balloons in Temecula.)

These days, Marion and her beloved dog Sushi “summer” at the family compound on a beautiful lake in Michigan where her family has gathered for decades.  This summer she has been Blue Cayenne’s special correspondent in Michigan–exchanging any number of  messages with me about the dishes she has cooked from this site. From the plum tart recipe to the savory butternut squash bread pudding, Marion has cooked Blue Cayenne for her family. And, from what I can make out, life (and food) at the compound has been very good.

Fortunately, Marion is an excellent photographer, too. Her beautiful photographs allow us to capture a bit of the magic of an unhurried summer on a beautiful lake in Michigan.

Love you, Marion. Wishing you many more recipes and cooking experiences. Enjoy your summer in paradise. Send cookies!

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

For me, it’s Snickers bars, refried beans, candied corn, and vanilla ice cream. (No. I don’t eat them together.)

We’re talking about comfort food today, or, as the dictionary defines it:  ” food that is enjoyable to eat and makes the eater feel better emotionally.”

Potato chips are most often identified as  the top comfort food in America, but a comfort food can be any food that relieves stress and makes a person feel safe.  For example, writer Anneli Rufus, in an article titled “How comfort foods work like Prozac”, confides that she finds comfort in small sourdough buns she purchases from a neighborhood shop: “In a certain cheese shop in my town, there is a rack of rolls. Gleaming golden outside and airy, stretchy, satiny inside, they’re sourdough and only vaguely square as if cut by clowns. One fits in my palm, then my sweatshirt pocket, which it must because this is the acid test by which I define comfort food: It’s small. It’s portable. It can be consumed silently. My comfort food must never call attention to itself. It must be dazzlingly bland, like Zen koans. Rolls. Marshmallows. Mochi. One round bowl of rice.” (Rufus is a recovering anorexic who is working to mend her relationship with food.)

There are gender differences in identifying comfort foods. According to research conducted at Cornell, women find comfort in snack-related foods like candy and chocolate while men prefer more meal-related comfort foods such as pasta and casseroles.

But why do we equate foods with well-being?

Studies show that the foods we enjoy are often tied in our minds to the positive memories and associations they evoke. Those foods make us feel safe, calm and cared for. It could be Mom’s minestrone or the chocolate cake we were always served on birthdays or the Snickers bars we hoarded every Halloween.

Foods also affect brain chemistry. State University of New York (Buffalo) psychology professor Shira Gabriel quotes studies that have shown that sugars and starches cause our brains to release seratonin, a neurotransmitter that triggers a sense of well-being. Salty foods, on the other hand, cause the release of oxytocins, the so-called “cuddle” chemicals that give us the same comfort that we get when we get a hug from a friend. So, a sociable person who feels isolated might reach out for a culinary hug with a salty snack like a bowl of pretzels while a piece of Amedei Chaou chocolate might calm someone down when the oven breaks down just as the first guests arrive for an  important party. (Considered by some to be the best chocolate in the world, you can buy a 50 gram bar of Amedei Limited Edition Chaou chocolate on Amazon for $21.15. That’s about $191 a pound–a guilt-inducing indulgence that might trigger its own crisis eating binge.)

Not everyone agrees, though. The University of Minnesota did a NASA-funded study where 100 subjects were shown 18 minutes of clips of sad/upsetting movies (Sophie’s Choice, Armageddon and The Hurt Locker) after which they were fed various foods–some comfort, some not. All their subjects reported feeling “awful” immediately after the movie clips. What surprised the researchers, though, was that all the study’s subjects, regardless of what they ate, felt better after the passage of a short amount of time. Their conclusion? People are remarkably resilient and the effect of comfort foods on moods is transitory at best. (Interestingly, some of the subjects quit the study after watching the three movie clips, so remember to paste a reminder on your TV not to queue up those three films to binge watch on Netflix.)

This broccoli and cheddar cheese soup seems to push some definite comfort buttons for me. I’ve never had an especially close connection to broccoli but cheese and I have a long and happy relationship.

Serves 4 Servings

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

20 minPrep Time

45 minCook Time

1 hr, 5 Total Time

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

My Recipes My Lists My Calendar

Ingredients

• 1 T. plus 4 T. unsalted butter (divided)
• 1 medium sweet yellow onion (cut in small dice)
• 1 garlic clove (minced finely)
• 1/4 C. all-purpose flour
• 2 C. vegetable stock
• 2 C. half and half
• 3 C. broccoli florets (diced into bite-size pieces)
• 2 large carrots (peeled and sliced into thin rounds)
• 3/4 t. salt (or to taste)
• 3/4 t. freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
• 1/2 t. smoked paprika (or regular paprika)
• 1/2 t. dry mustard powder (optional or to taste)
• pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
• 6 ounces grated high quality extra-sharp cheddar cheese (reserve some for the garnish)
• Chopped parsley for garnish

Instructions

1. Melt 1 T. butter in a saucepan and sauté onion over medium heat for about 4 minutes. You want the onion to be lightly browned and translucent. Stir this mixture while the onion sautés to prevent the onion from burning.
2. Add the minced garlic and cook briefly (about 30 seconds). Stir while you cook the garlic to be sure that it doesn't burn. Burned garlic will give your soup an unpleasant bitter taste. Set the onion/garlic mixture aside while you prepare the rest of the soup.
3. Melt 4 T. of butter in a large soup pot. When the butter is bubbling, whisk in the flour. Continue to whisk the flour until the mixture is thickened. The flour/butter mixture will brown a bit but you don't want it to overcook and take a really brown color. (This flour and butter mixture is a thickening roux.)
4. Whisk the vegetable stock into the flour roux, whisking constantly. Whisk in the half and half. Simmer this mixture for 15-20 minutes. You want the roux to cook down a bit and to thicken.
5. While your roux mixture is cooking, chop your vegetables. Then, when the roux has cooked for 15-20 minutes, add the broccoli, carrots, and the onion/garlic mixture.
6. Add the seasonings: salt, pepper, paprika, optional dry mustard powder and the optional cayenne. Stir to combine.
7. Continue to simmer your soup for 20 to 25 minutes, whisking occasionally to incorporate the "skin" that will form on the surface.
8. Grate cheese and stir it into the soup, reserving some of the cheese to garnish the individual bowls of soup when you serve it to your guests. Sprinkle some chopped parsley over the finished dish. (If your soup is too thick, thin it with a bit more half and half or broth.)

7.8.1.2

72

https://bluecayenne.com/give-yourself-a-hug-broccoli-cheddar-soup

This recipe is adapted from one that appears here: Averie Cooks’ Recipe for Cheddar and Broccoli Soup

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave