Blue Cayenne

I pride myself on preparing some complicated dishes. Sometimes, though, the simple stuff trips me up. Like vinaigrette salad dressing.

Here is a vinaigrette recipe I’m loving.

Recipe: Foolproof Vinaigrette

2 T. white balsamic vinegar
3 T finely minced shallot
1 t. mayonnaise
1 t. Dijon mustard
1/4 t. salt
Ground black pepper
6 T. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:
Combine first six ingredients in a bowl and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Alternatively, put first six ingredients into a cruet and shake vigorously.

Whisk olive oil into the dressing (or add to the cruet and shake).

Cook’s Notes: I added 1/2 t. of fresh lemon juice to this dressing.

Do you have PDA (phyllo-dough anxiety) ?

A lot of people I know do. They get quiet and their eyes take on that glassy far-away look when we have “the talk” about phyllo.

My stock answer is that phyllo is very very forgiving. Rip it and you just cover the rip over with another piece of the dough or a smear of butter. Who’ll know? In fact, those extra edges of buttered dough will make your dish all the more crispy and delicious.

These feta cheese-filled phyllo pastries are melt-in-your-mouth good, or, as the Greeks say about something that is sinfully delicious , Μπουκιά και συγχώριο.  (One bite and all is forgiven.)

I like to serve these as appetizers but, served as an accompaniment, they elevate a simple summer salad dinner to something special.

This is my adaptation of a recipe from Zov Karamardian. Karamardian is the owner of the much-acclaimed Zov’s Bistros in Tustin, Newport, and Anaheim and is the author two cookbooks, Zov and Zov Simply.

If your hands are still shaky when you think about working with phyllo, here is a You Tube link that shows you the process for making tiropita  (and gives you another recipe for the filling). The video also has a nifty suggestion about cutting the strips of dough.

Here is a link to another “how to” phyllo video, this one made by Athens Foods. Their phyllo is commonly available in the freezer section of grocery stores here in California:

Athens Foods Phyllo Video

Recipe: Tiropita

12 sheets phyllo dough (defrosted)

6 oz. feta cheese (crumbled)—about 1 1/2 cups

3 oz. fontina cheese (shredded)—about 1 cup

2 oz. Monterey jack cheese (shredded)—about 3/4 cup

1/2 C. chopped fresh Italian parsley

2 large eggs (beaten just to blend)

1 T. minced shallot

1/2 C. melted unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Defrost your phyllo dough overnight in your refrigerator.

Combine feta, fontina and Monterey jack cheeses. Add parsley, eggs and minced shallot to the cheese mixture.

Melt unsalted butter in your microwave.

Prepare a large rimed baking sheet by lining it with parchment.

Carefully unroll the defrosted phyllo and put on your counter. Cover the phyllo with plastic wrap and a lightly-dampened towel. Be sure to have all your ingredients prepared and arranged conveniently on your counter before you begin working with the phyllo. It dries out quickly and you will want to work fast.

Slowly remove a sheet of the phyllo and place it on your work surface. Brush the phyllo with melted butter. Remove another phyllo sheet and place on top of the buttered sheet. Butter the second sheet.  Use a knife or a pizza cutter to cut the buttered phyllo into 3 inch-wide strips (cut the phyllo length-wise so that you have long strips). Alternatively, use the method described in the cheese tiropita video posted above. The cook in that video cuts the roll of phyllo into three sections while it is still rolled up.

Put a generous tablespoon of filling at the bottom of each buttered strip and fold the strip over to cover the filling, folding the strip of phyllo so that you make a small triangle. Then, continue to fold the strip like you were folding a flag–keeping the triangle shape as you make your small packet. When you get to the last fold, brush the tiropita with butter and press the last edge of the phyllo to attach it firmly to the packet.  Brush both sides of the finished tiropita with butter and put it on your prepared baking sheet.

Continue making your tiropitas (this will get easier as you go!). In the end, you should have 24 triangles. (See cook’s notes below. Your tiropitas can be frozen at this point.)

Bake about 20-25 minutes until the packets are light brown. Serve warm.

Cook’s Notes: If your phyllo dough sticks when you try to separate the layers, take a deep breath and work slowly. It is not unusal for this to happen, I’ve found. If the layer tears, just use the ripped piece.

Baked, these triangles do not keep their crisp for long. You will want to bake them shortly before serving. The good news is that these pastries can be frozen before baking and then popped frozen onto your baking sheet when you are ready to enjoy them.

The bowl of borscht pictured above is not a soup. At least, it is not a soup unless you want it to be. Borscht can be served as a hearty stew and as a cold gazpacho-like drink. It’s your call.

However you serve it, borscht is terrific tasting. Beet borscht is boldly beautiful in the bowl, too. (Try to say that fast–preferably not while you have a mouthful of borscht lest you end up trying to scrub beet stains off your dinner guests.)

We’re most familiar with the beet version of borscht but there are a number of variations—sorrel borscht, rye borscht, cabbage borscht—not to mention dozens of different toppings ranging from apples to zucchini to beans to hard-boiled eggs.

Borscht has ancient origins in the Mediterranean but in more recent times has come to be associated with Eastern Europe and Russia. The Ukraine, where the most iterations of borscht are served, claims it as its national soup and many Ukrainians get downright testy when someone refers to beet borscht as a “Russian” dish.  (Do we have a national soup? Just curious.)

In fact, there is a profound reverence for borscht among Ukrainians. Here, for example,  is Ukrainian chef Sasha Pogrebinsky’s paean to her mother’s borscht, “…When she prepares it the lovely fresh scent of beets and dill and cabbage slowly stewing and brewing spreads like a sweet cunning song of a siren through the high ceilings and hallways of our house in Cleveland, entering all the rooms, going up and down the stairs, spinning like a miraculous cloud in those high ceilings. Everything that is good on this Earth is in borscht.”

Originally borscht was made with hogweed stems that were fermented for several days and then added to the borscht. The fermented hogweed gave the soup/drink/stew a sour flavor with the pickled hogweed tasting like something between beer and sauerkraut. Later, it became common to make the soup with pickled beets. Many modern cooks give the soup a sour pop by adding ingredients like lemon juice, vinegar, a generous dollop of sour cream or by substituting sauerkraut for the fresh cabbage called for in many recipes.

A glass of borscht is also sometimes given an extra kick by adding a shot of iced vodka. (Those Ukrainians know how to party!)

This recipe serves ten, but don’t let that put you off. Like women, borscht gets better as it ages.

This is my adaptation of a recipe for Ukrainian Red Borscht Soup from the AllRecipes site. The link to the original recipe appears at the end of this post.

Recipe: Borscht
3 medium beets (peeled and shredded)
3 carrots (peeled and shredded)
3 medium baking potatoes (peeled and cubed)
1 T. vegetable oil
1 medium onion (chopped)
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
3/4 C. water
1/2 medium head of cabbage (cored and shredded)
1 8-oz. can diced tomatoes (drained)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
salt and pepper to taste
1 t. white sugar (or to taste)
1/2 C. sour cream (for topping)
1 T. chopped fresh parsley or a sprig of dill for garnish

Directions:
Bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Add shredded beets and cook in boiling water until the beets have lost their color. Add shredded carrots and cubed potatoes and cook until tender. This will take about 15 minutes. Add shredded cabbage and diced tomatoes. Continue cooking until the cabbage begins to soften.

Meanwhile, heat 1 T. oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and saute until onion is tender. Add tomato paste and water to the sauteed onion and stir until mixed. Transfer the onion-tomato water to the soup pot. Add the minced garlic to the soup and turn off the heat. Let soup stand for 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt, pepper and sugar. Add more water if your borscht is too thick.

Ladel into soup bowls and garnish with sour cream and parsley or dill.

Here is the link to the original recipe from the AllRecipes site:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/84450/ukrainian-red-borscht-soup/?internalSource=search%20result&referringContentType=search%20results