Butternut Gnocchi with Braised Green Sauce

This is a combination of two recipes: Butternut Squash Gnocchi and Braised Mixed Greens. The gnocchi were not something I'd make again. The greens turned out just fine.

The original butternut gnocchi recipe called for a sage butter sauce, but I lacked fresh sage, so I elected to add a ton of dried sage to the braised greens recipe and throw it on top. As for the gnocchi themselves, I deviated from the recipe twice, in the following respects: I used the Cuisinart to mix the dough, and my white:wheat ratio was something like 1:2. After a lot of work, I ended up with chewy, raw-ish-seeming gnocchi, even after altering the size of the pieces and even after leaving them boiling for extra time. Not wonderful. The chief taster liked them, but I thought they definitely weren't worth all that work. The butternut soup is a much better way to use squash, and vastly easier.

Pasta with Savoy Cabbage, Peas and Lemon

Original recipe is here. I started with a slice of bacon, then added two small heads of savoy cabbage sliced fine. Sauteed that, then added a couple little green garlics. I messed around with the sauce, adding some wine, some milk, some yogurt, some mayo, some thyme and dill. The milk curdled and didn't look good. I then added a cup of frozen peas, 2 tsp lemon zest, and salt and pepper. Turned out pretty well when I mixed it with the pasta. It was a little dry and could have used the creaminess from more mayo or yogurt or actual cream. The bacon was essential, it would have been too light and cabbagey otherwise.

Dijon Chicken Stew

So this chicken stew was pretty good. I modified it a bit to account for ingredients that I had lying around.

My version:

Thinly slice 2 large leeks and saute in olive oil with 1 tablespoon mustard seeds. Add 1/2 cup pearl barley and saute briefly. Throw about four cloves of garlic on there for a minute or so, then remove to a bowl.

Dredge about 1 pound chicken thighs and 1/2 pound chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces, in flour and saute over high heat in olive oil until browned. Add about a cup of white wine to deglaze pan and a tablespoon or so of dried thyme. Add 2 tablespoons dijon mustard.

Mix a tablespoon of flour with water or broth and stir to suspend. Add to the pot along with the leeks, barley and garlic. Peel and cut up a rutabaga and add that to the pot. Simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes; add 1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped, and simmer for 10 or 15 more minutes.

Season with salt and pepper and about a tablespoon of paprika.

This was good, but the rutabaga stayed a little too firm. The flavor was great. The chicken turned out well, reminding me that the secret to chicken is to saute without water on high heat briefly and then simmer on low heat with water.

Artichoke and Cheese Puff

This is adapted from a recipe in The Vegetarian Epicure Book Two, which, unlike Alice Medrich's magnum opus, you can pick up your very own copy of for a whopping 88 cents. Anyway, the recipe made a significant dent in the half-gallon jar of marinated artichoke hearts that I stupidly picked up at Costco because it was cheap and who doesn't like artichoke hearts? Everyone likes artichoke hearts, but not with every meal. And a half-gallon of artichokes takes up too much permanent space in my fridge, I've learned. Thus, interesting uses must be found for them.

For this recipe, chop up a medium onion and cook it by sauteing on medium heat, covered, for about ten minutes to release the juices; then uncovered for five more minutes to let the juices thicken; then add a splash or two of white wine and cook for ten or fifteen more minutes, stirring to prevent burning, until the onions are limp and beginning to caramelize.

Meanwhile, chop up about two cups of canned marinated artichoke hearts and strew them, along with the onions, on the bottom of a buttered casserole dish.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Separate five eggs. Mix yolks with a splash of milk, two tablespoons flour, a healthy amount of fresh pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt.

Whip whites with 1/8 tsp cream of tartar until soft peaks form, and then fold gradually into the yolk mixture.

Fold in about a cup of grated cheddar cheese and a quarter cup of grated parmesan.

Pour the egg-cheese mixture over the artichoke hearts and onions in the casserole dish and bake for about 30 minutes or until the puff is browned on top and no longer liquid in the middle.

Along with a big salad, this made a good light dinner for two. Next time I'd add more herbs. A healthy dose of thyme would have made the onions much better.

Gai Galumblee

I made this recipe tonight to use up some of my abundant bok choy, and it turned out pretty well. I did modify it kind of a lot to use what I had, though the basics are still the same.

1. Dump 1 can coconut milk in a saucepan along with several healthy grinds of black pepper, a teaspoon of coriander, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a gentle boil, then ease back until surface of coconut milk is not moving, but still hot. Coconut milk is thick enough to be simmering temperature without appearing to bubble at all.
2. Add about 6 chicken breast tenderloin strips, chopped into thumb-sized pieces. Simmer gently for 5 minutes or so, until done. Remove to a bowl.
3. Add 1 large bunch bok choy, chopped. Then add:
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon white wine or rice wine
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon rind
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon curry powder
4. Simmer very gently for 10 minutes or until bok choy is tender. Stir chicken back in and serve over rice.

Very easy, quick and tasty. I served it with mieng kum, CTM's favorite appetizer ever, and brown rice. Yum!

Cake 1 -- Chocolate Hazelnut Torte

This is from page 34 of Cocolat. Oddly enough, I noticed that this cookbook, which originally retailed for about $35.00 in hardcover when issued in 1990, has since shot up to at least $100 and up to $200 on Amazon, even with "small chocolate stains inside" ($125). Guess that's the power of small print runs of very good books. CTM suggests that this demonstrates the pragmatism of his book-collecting hobby.

Cake took 35 minutes from beginning of assembly to oven.
3 bowls are required:
Bowl 1: 6 oz chocolate ( I used TJ's 70% dark chocolate Pound Plus. 6 oz is approximately 13.5 squares), 6 oz butter (1 1/2 sticks) melted in the microwave on 50% power. Starting with frozen butter, this took approximately 5 minutes (with intermittent stirring).

Bowl 2: Beat 4 egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until pale yellow and thick. Add contents of Bowl 1, 1/2 cup ground hazelnuts, and 1/4 cup flour.

Bowl 3: Beat 4 egg whites with 1/8 tsp cream of tartar on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar and beat on high speed until stiff but not dry. Bowl 3 must be very clean and free of grease (I re-washed mine before use).

Fold 1/4 of Bowl 3 into Bowl 2 to lighten, then add all of Bowl 3 and fold gently until combined.

Pour into 9x2 round pan and bake at 375 F for 40-45 minutes.

Results: In my own oven at 375 F in a 9x2 round pan, this was done after about 38 minutes. Furthermore, she wasn't kidding about the 8x3 round pan in the original recipe (which I guess I'll have to pick up one of); the batter overflowed, though just barely, forming a funky lip all the way around the cake.

Taste: Because this cake is designed to stand alone rather than to be filled with creams and syrups, it has a fairly heavy moistness burden to carry. The edge of the cake is on the dry side, but the interior is sufficiently moist. The flavor is fairly bittersweet chocolate. Not much hazelnut flavor shines through, and the hazelnut meal adds a somewhat gritty texture that I don't entirely care for. More than good enough for company, but not perfect. The chocolate flavor is too dark to be a crowd-pleaser. Next time I would use chocolate chips or add more sugar.

Structure: This is fairly springy and resilient, though I'm not sure how it will hold up under five or six similar layers; the sides bow out when pressed too hard with the cake pan. Probably best on its own.

Verdict: No go. Flavor too dark, texture too gritty, and architecture too boring. My coworkers will like it, though.

From this cookbook, I also plan to test the Gateau Grand Marnier on page 76, the Lutèce on page 80, the Pavé D'Amour on page 91, and the Celebration Cake on page 120. All of these cakes involve layers of sponge and buttercream and syrup, which I may prefer to the simpler Chocolate Hazelnut Torte.

Recipes to remember this week

Gai Galumblee
Bacony Bok Choy
Fennel, Artichoke, Parmesan Salad

Portobello and Toasted Barley Salad

This is a liberal modification of a recipe that I found here.

For 2 people:
1 cup water
1/2 cup barley
6 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
1/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers
2 tbsp very thinly sliced green onion or shallot
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or cider vinegar
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed
2 servings salad greens, dressed lightly in oil and balsamic vinegar

Toast 1/2 cup barley over medium high heat until very lightly browned and fragrant. Add 1 cup water and bring to boil in medium saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until water is absorbed, about 25 minutes. Mix barley, 3 tablespoons oil, parsley or cilantro, chopped red peppers, onions, vinegar, walnuts and garlic in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Prepare broiler or grill (medium-high heat). Brush 1 tablespoon oil evenly over both sides of mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill mushrooms until tender, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Place mushrooms, gill side up, on platter. Spoon barley mixture atop mushrooms and garnish with salad greens.

Yum!

Napa Cabbage?

Seems about as useless as spaghetti squash, so far. I ignored it for a week and a half or so and browsed through a couple of recipes for kimchi and other stuff I never ever eat. Finally last night I sliced it thinly and tossed it with a generous amount of kosher salt, then pressed it into a bowl with a plate on top and left it in the fridge overnight, hoping this would make it faintly slaw-y or a bit pickled or something. Today it's sufficiently salty, slightly more limp, and somewhat juicy, but has a strong, fairly unpleasant, cabbagey sulfury taste and doesn't work well as a side dish. Any ideas out there for the rest of my pile of salted cabbage?