Category Archives: Vegetables

Black Bean Cakes

This is a new favorite quick evening meal in our household, straight from the pages of Cooking Light Magazine.  All we added were a few grape tomatoes.

I love having eggs for dinner – there is something so homey about it. I also like that this meal uses ingredients we usually have in stock – all we need to pick up at the store on the way home is fresh cilantro and maybe a lime – though if we have a lemon at home I’d use it instead. If you don’t keep Panko around the house (we usually have a bag in the freezer), use some old bread to make your own breadcrumbs instead.

Can Eating Broccoli Prevent Breast Cancer?

It’s a question I found myself asking after reading that a diet rich in the natural plant compound phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) has been shown to prevent the development of mammary tumors in mice.  PEITC is a compound found in watercress and in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower.

The researchers found that administering PEITC for 29 weeks was linked with a 56.3% reduction in mammary carcinoma lesions greater than 2mm. “Although PEITC administration does not confer complete protection against mammary carcinogenesis, mice placed on the PEITC-supplemented diet, compared with mice placed on the control diet, clearly exhibited suppression of carcinoma progression,” the authors write. PEITC was also well-tolerated.

Although studies on PEITC in mice are quite promising, proving that PEITC works in humans is not so easy.  Dietary studies in humans are exceedingly difficult to perform, and studies of PEITC-rich foods and cancer rates have had mixed results to date. Still, we do know that people who eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables have lower rates of certain cancers, as well as less heart disease, hypertension and diabetes.

Those are enough reasons to feel good about eating your broccoli.  Here’s my new favorite recipe for eating mine.

ROASTED BROCCOLI

Although there are many wonderful roast broccoli recipes out there (see links below), the simplicity of this preparation makes this it a versatile accompaniment to almost any meal.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
– 1 head broccoli
– Extra virgin olive oil
– Sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the broccoli into large florets. Cut off the end of the stalk and discard, then slice the remaining center stalk into 1/8 inch thick rounds. Spread the broccoli out in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast 15 mins or so, till just tender and the edges are nicely browned, stopping halfway through to turn the broccoli and re-brush as needed with olive oil.

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NCI info on cruciferous vegetables and Cancer

More great broccoli recipes

Leek, Spinach and Courgette Kugel (aka Persian Kuku)


I know. You’re wondering what a courgette is. I’ll give you a hint. It’s long, green, has seeds and can grow to enormous sizes. And no, it’s not a male frog’s body part, get your mind out of the gutter, will you?

Courgette is the French word for zucchini.

Courgette = Zucchini (French)

Speaking of words, although this dish, which hails from the Sephardic Jewish Jews of Turkey and Persia, is called a kugel, it is actually almost identical to the Persian egg-vegetable dish called a Kuku.

Remarkably similar words, similar ingredients, but, it seems, completely different etymology. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, the word “Kugel” is derived from the German/Yiddish for Kugeltopf – a ball shaped ceramic jar in which puddings were cooked on the stove – while the word “Kuku” is believed to stem from  the Farsi word for fowl, which either makes a noise like the word or lays the eggs from which the dish is derived.

LEEK, SPINACH & COURGETTE KUGEL

Another recipe from Martha Spieler’s Jewish Cooking. This is one of the healthiest, most delicious ways to use the spring harvest, and is chock full of veggies, with the egg serving as more of a binder for the veggies than a main player.  Yet another reminder of what makes the Mediterranean cuisine so good for you. 

  • 6 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 large leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
  • 1 1/2 pounds spinach, washed
  • 1 courgette (zucchini), coarsely grated
  • 1 baking potato, coarsely grated
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 3 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 2 pinches ground turmeric
  • 3 tbsp matzo meal
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • Lemon wedges to serve

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat half the oil in a large saute pan. Add leeks and saute till just tender. Remove leeks to a large bowl and set aside.

Add the spinach to the pan with just the water that clings to it after washing. Place the cover on (it will seem like a lot of spinach, but don’t worry – it cooks way down) and saute over med high heat till just softened, using tongs to distribute and toss the spinach as it cooks down. (This step only takes a few minutes) Drain really well (use technique below if needed) , and when cool, chop roughly.

Meanwhile, grate the courgette and the potato, then drain and either squeeze in your hands to remove the excess liquid, or wrap in a clear dish towel and wring  to accomplish the same.

Add zucchini, potato and spinach to leeks, along with scallions, garlic, turmeric and salt and pepper to taste. Add the matzo meal. Stir the dill into the eggs and add to the vegetable mixture.

Pour the remaining 3 tbsp olive oil into a lasagna-type baking pan and heat in the oven for about 5 minutes. Carefully and quickly remove the pan to the top of the stove, and spoon the vegetable mixture evenly into the pan, allowing the hot oil to bubble up over the ides and onto the top of the veggie mixture.

Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake another 15-20 minutes till firm to the touch, golden brown and fluffy.

Sprinkle with chopped dill for garnish ad serve warm with lemon wedges to squeeze over the kugel.

ADDENDUM 6/24/12 – IRENE’S VERSION

My mother-in-law Irene, the Best Home Cook in the World, modified the recipe as follows –

One leek instead of two. 1/2 chopped red pepper in with the leek. One 10 oz. bag spinach instead of 1-1/2 lbs. 2 tbsps. matzo meal instead of 3. 2 scallions instead of 3. I stirred in about 1/4 cup of crumbled feta cheese to the finished mixture before baking it. Had some home-made spicy tomato sauce in the fridge and smeared about 1/4 cup on top, halfway thru the baking. Thanks, a great recipe and will be wonderful at Passover.

Just tasted her version and it is even better than the one I made.  She made hers in a 7 by 12 by 2.5 inch oval ceramic pan, which gave hers more height.

Moroccan Carrot Salad

Marlena Spieler’s marvelous cookbook Jewish Cooking covers the breadth of traditional Jewish cuisine across Europe, the United States, Africa and the Middle East. Accompanied by gorgeous illustrations, a fascinating historical introduction on the Jewish Diaspora and a very informative (for this Catholic-raised girl at least) chapter on Jewish dietary laws and foodstuffs, the book has become one of my favorite go-to sources for new and foolproof recipes. After all, these are the dishes that have withstood generations of cooks, with adjustments and tweaks along the way. At this point in their evolution, they’re pretty much perfect.

MOROCCAN CARROT SALAD
My only modifications on the original recipe were to lightly saute the garlic in olive oil  (I don’t like garlic too raw), eliminate the vinegar (it gives me migraines), and increase the lemon juice accordingly. ff you like vinegar, use just 1/2 lemon and add 2 tbsp of red wine vinegar.

  • 4 carrots, thinly sliced
  • Pinch of sugar
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1/8  tsp ground cumin (you can use up to 1/4 tsp if you prefer a stronger flavor)
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, parsley or a mix of both
  • salt and ground black pepper to taste

Cook carrots in boiling salted water till just tender but not soft. Drain and let dry a bit, then put into a bowl. Saute the garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil till soft but not browned. Add sugar, herbs, garlic w/ oil, cumin, lemon juice and the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Serve at room temp or chilled.

Asparagus with Mustard Vinaigrette

 

A quick post and pic for a quick and delicious asparagus recipe from yesterday’s New York Times. Perfect for using the chives that have had their annual rebirth in my terrace garden. We added some sliced avocado, otherwise made it as written. The gorgeous thin spring asparagus are from Fairway.  We had enough vinaigrette leftover to use tomorrow in something else – I’m thinking of trying it with chopped eggs as an enlightened egg salad.

 

Sauteed Kale with Garlic – An Infectious Recipe

Sauteed Kale with Garlic, one of Mr TBTAM’s signature dishes, has become the winter vegetable of choice in our household. We never tire of it. It goes well with almost anything – pasta, chicken, sausages, soups. We’ve served it at several dinners with friends, and always are asked for the recipe. Our friends Noel and Amy liked it so much they’ve started making it on a regular basis as well, and Noel served it back to us last week, individually plated and garnished with sautéed mushrooms.

That’s the hallmark of a great recipe – it’s infectious.

Mr TBTAM’s Sauteed Kale with Garlic

You can use chicken or veggie stock, and as little or as much garlic as you like. We use chicken stock and tons of garlic. And hot pepper flakes. 

Yield – 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 large bunch of kale
  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2  cup chicken or veggie stock
  • 1-6  cloves garlic to taste, diced
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Hot pepper flakes to taste (Optional)

Directions

Wash kale and shake dry. Cut out center stem and then tear leaves into several pieces. Heat oil till hot in a large saute pan. Add garlic and saute over medium high heat  till soft but not brown (be careful!). Add kale and chicken stock, cover and lower heat to medium. Cook till kale is wilted (but not too soft) and still bright green, about 5 minutes or so.  Remove the lid, toss around while the excess stock cooks off, another minute or so. Season with salt and pepper. Serve piping hot.

Noel’s Sauteed Kale with Less Garlic and a Mushroom Garnish 

1-2 tbsp olive oil
Button or crimini mushrooms, washed, dried and quartered
Salt and pepper
Mr TBTAM’s sauteed kale with made with veggie stock and 1 clove garlic

Heat olive oil over high heat in a small saute pan. Add mushrooms and saute till browned nicely – don’t stir too much, you want them to brown. Season and remove from the pan to set aside while cooking the kale and garlic. Plate kale individually and with a scattering of mushrooms atop.

Flatbread with Eggplant, Peppers & Olives (Coca de Recapte)

This traditional Catalan flatbread is based on yet another recipe from Williams Sonoma Barcelona cookbook. Coca recapte are savory pastries made with meat or fish and vegetables, the combination of which depends, apparently, on what is in the larder. Or, as Catalan food blogger Anna at the Good Food Room describes it :

Recapte” is Catalan for “Alright, after a hard work’s day, let’s see what we have left and how we can turn it into a meal”…

Well, this coca recapte was made after a hard day’s play following an early evening swim and a day spent antiquing, playing scrabble, biking and hanging on the front porch. In true Barcelonan style, we did not eat till well after 9 pm. Not quite the same as a visit to Spain, but just as nice.

Flatbread with Eggplant, Peppers & olives (Coca de Recapte)

I love the technique for cooking eggplant in this recipe – roasted the same way you roast peppers. This coca recipe uses baking powder, but other coca recipes I’ve seen used yeast. In the future, I think I’ll make this using Mark Bittman’s pizza dough recipe.

For the dough

  • 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 3/4 cup water

Topping

  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 medium eggplant
  • 1 large sweet onion, very thinly sliced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced fine
  • 12 black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 large ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 5 tbsp olive oil, plus a tad more to grease the pan

Preheat oven to 450 degrees fahrenheit. Place peppers and eggplant on baking sheet and roast, turning them so they char evenly on all 4 sides, about 45 minutes.

While veggies are roasting, slice and caramelize the onions. In a cast iron skillet, melt 1 tbsp butter in 1 tbsp olive oil over moderately high heat. Add sliced onions, turn down the heat to medium and saute, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelized, about 10-15 minutes. Cool.

Remove roasted vegetables to a brown paper bag to cool about 15 minutes.

While the roasted veggies are cooling in the bag, make the flatbread dough. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the center, and add olive oil and egg yolk. Gradually add water, mixing into the flour with a wooden spoon. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about a minute until soft, smooth and elastic. Form into a ball and place into a large lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes until dough puffs slightly.

Peel cooled roasted veggies, discarding the stems, seeds and skins. Slice into thin strips, then toss gently with onions, garlic and olives. Season generously with salt and pepper. Set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to fit a lightly oiled 12 by 9 inch baking pan.  Press dough into pan and trim edges if need be.

Cover the base of the dough with the tomato slices. Brush with 2 tbsp olive oil. Arrange the veggies evenly over the tomato slices and drizzle with remaining oil. Bake until edges are starting to brown, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, slice into squares and serve warm.

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Coca Recapte around the web

Summer Corn Pudding

Most recipes for corn pudding get published in the fall, evoking images of the Indians and the Pilgrims gathered around the Thanksgiving table. These recipes are a great reason to use the leftover corn you had put in the freezer in July and then forgot you had until you found it while cleaning out the freezer in November.

Here’s what I say – forget the frozen corn. Make the corn pudding in July using sweet corn fresh off the ear. And don’t waste the recipe on leftover corn – buy the corn special just for this recipe. It’s worth it. Serve it with reheated ribs and barbecue sauce that you had found in the freezer. Add green beans, and if the weather is right, it can become your first rooftop dinner of the season.

Oh and did I mention I didn’t actually make this? Mr TBTAM did! But I helped reheat the ribs and set the table.

Corn Pudding
(Modified from Fonda San Miguel: Thirty Years of Food and Art, by Tom Gilliland, Miguel Ravago, and Virginia B. Wood, in Epicurious)

If you make this, I recommend cutting the peppers in a large dice rather than strips above, because the strips make it hard to cut the pudding onto squares, which is why it sort of just looks like a delciious clump on the plate…

2 pounds fresh corn kernels
Whole milk as needed (up to a cup)
6 eggs, separated
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (substitute corn flour for a gluten free option)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
cayenne pepper to taste (about a pinch or more to taste)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese
1 poblano chile, roasted, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch strips
Half of a red bell pepper, cut into strips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with butter or oil. Puree the corn in the food processor with just enough milk to make a smooth puree (we used a little over a half cup). With the machine running, add egg yolks, one at a time, and process 30 seconds after each addition. Keeping machin running, add the sugar a little at a time and process until mixture is lighter in color and sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add butter and process until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder; fold into corn mixture. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and fold into corn mixture, alternating with the shredded cheese. Pour into baking dish and top with strips of chile and red bell pepper. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

An Even Easier and Less Fattening Corn Pudding

We got the whole idea of making corn pudding from my mother in law Irene, who made this much simpler and just as delicious recipe, also from Epicurious. I’m making Irene’s version next time – it’s also less calories..

A Tuscan Vegetarian Repast – Funghi alla toscana


Note – this post went out on the feed before I had finished editing it. Don’t use the feed recipe, it’s got errors. Use this one.

Having friends over for dinner who are both Kosher and vegetarian can be a challenge, and I love a good challenge. What makes it a fun challenge is that these friends are always up for trying something new, and appreciate the efforts we make to accomodate their dietary preferences. Even better is the fact that our kids are older, which means we’ve moved on beyond just pasta.

Mutual college spring breaks for our daughters was last night’s reason for getting together. It was also the first day in weeks when I did not have to be anywhere but home, having been overwhelmed with work, life and family issues. I actually had time to cook!

Turning to one of my favorite cookbooks, Regional Italian Cuisine, for inspiration, I found it on pages 156-157, where there were photos and recipes for four gorgeous Tuscan vegetable dishes.

  • Fagioli all/accelletto (White Beans w/ Sage)
  • Spinach gratinati (Baked Spinach)
  • Funghi alla toscana (Stewed Mushrooms)
  • Finocchi al fortno (Baked Fennel)

“Let’s make them all!” I called to Mr TBTAM, who agreed that they looked so beautiful together in the book, they’d make a perfect dinner.  We figured we’d round out the meal with mesclun salad with a lemon vinaigrette and a warm baguette.

So we rode our bikes to Fairway for provisions, doing a Central Park Loop on the way there and back. (My first ride of the season, I can’t wait for more warm weather!)

Believe it or not, preparing these four dishes was not very difficult, and Mr TBTAM and I only spent a total of about 2 hours in the kitchen, including time for making some fresh breadcrumbs. We started with the beans, which we allowed to stew on the stovetop for about an hour, while we made the rest of the dishes. The breadcrumbs and the Fennel were next, and while that baked, I made the spinach. Last was the most amazing – the mushrooms. All the cooked dishes kept nicely while we sat around drinking wine and munching on appetizers for over an hour, and reheated beautifully just before mealtime.

The best part is that we now have four tried and true side dishes for future dinners, vegetarian or not.

And so do you.

I’m starting with the prettiest first, and will post the others over the next few days. Enjoy!

Funghi alla Toscana

Garlic, tomato paste, lemon and mint combine to give these mushrooms a most wonderful flavor. My recipe uses more mushrooms and a tad less olive oil than the original, (17 ounces and 5 tbsp, respectively, in the original recipe).

  • 1 1/2 lbs small to medium sized fresh mixed mushrooms (I used bella, white and chanterelles)
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt + pepper to taste
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 2-4 tbsp chopped fresh mint for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Clean and thinly slice mushrooms, tossing them with 1/2 the lemon juice. Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet. Add mushrooms and saute over medium high heat – how long? The original recipe does not say. I figured until  they just barely give up their water, or about 5 minutes. While the mushrooms are cooking, melt butter in a sauce pan. Saute garlic in the butter until golden, about 1-2 minutes, then add the rest of lemon juice and the tomato paste and season with salt and pepper. Add to the mushrooms, season again with salt and pepper and pop the skillet into the oven for 10 minutes. Top with mint and serve hot in the skillet.

Blue Hill-Inspired Thoughts on Real Food and a Recipe for Braised Fennel with Apples

If you had a gift certificate for dinner at Blue Hill, when would you go? Summer or winter? Would it be salads, corn, fresh tomatoes, summer vegetables and berries or root vegetables, greenhouse greens and autumn fruits?

I chose winter. Perhaps it’s my Irish/Slav potato-loving roots and my love of cheeses and cured meats. Or the fact that the gift certificate, given to me by a grateful patient over a year ago, was about to expire.

For those of you who may not know Blue Hill, it’s the restaurant the Obamas chose for date night in 2009,  where chef Dan Barber, at the forefront of the farm-to-table movement, serves food the NY times says “you’d almost rather hug than eat”.

We took the girls to Blue Hill for a special family dinner, riding the train to West 4th St one Sunday evening in mid-January, walking through the Village and stopping along the way to browse the vinyl at Bleecker Bobs before taking a late seating at Blue Hill. We’ve never before eaten with the kids at such a high end restaurant, but they’re old enough now to appreciate it, and have a good consciousness of the issues regarding the food supply in this country and the importance of restaurants like Blue Hill in supporting local farmers.

The meal was marvelous, every bite a satisfying surprise. Since the gift certificate went only so far towards what is a very pricey meal, we decided to share the appetizers and skip the bottle of wine so we could enjoy dessert. So no one was more surprised than I to discover that, despite what might have seemed small portions in another restaurant, we were utterly satisfied by the end of our meal and elected to forgo dessert.

But that’s what real food does, doesn’t it? It truly satisfies.

Sometimes I wonder if the reason Americans are so fat is because we just keep looking to satiate our inner craving for real food, a craving that synthetic processed food will never be able to fill. Which suggests that the higher price tag for organic veggies and grass fed meats may actually bely the biggest food bargain we’ll ever get.

Blue Hill-Inspired Braised Fennel and Apples

The Blue Hill appetizer that inspired this dish was braised and roasted fennel, smoked apples and homemade pancetta. They sliced their apples so thin you could almost see through them – without a mandoline, I couldn’t come close, but still I enjoyed my own version almost as much. I based my recipe on one from Simply Recipes (nice pic there of braised fennel), used pistachios instead of pancetta, and drizzled a nice rich balsamic vinegar atop for color and a dash of flavor.

2 small fennel bulbs
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
(optional) a tiny sprig of fresh rosemary or thyme
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 large Gold Rush or other tart crisp apple, thinly sliced
Roasted peeled pistachios – I get mine from a local Middle Eastern Food shop

Trim the fennel, halve each bulb through the core, then cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil  in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the fennel (in batches if ned be) until browned on all sides, turning carefully and seasoning with salt and pepper while browning, about 4-5 mins each.

Add the broth and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, until tender, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl. Raise the heat to high, add 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, and reduce the sauce until syrupy.

Arange the apples on a serving plate, then top with fennel and pistachios. Drizzle with balsamic reduction.

Herb-Roasted Potatoes

The bad news is that our terrace herb garden went unwatered for our entire vacation, and we returned home to find everything pretty much dried out.

The good news is that rosemary, thyme and tarragon are just as good dried as fresh. Maybe even better.

Herb-Roasted Potatoes

The smaller the potatoes are cut, the faster they will cook. Try to get all the pieces the same size so they will cook evenly.

3 lbs red bliss potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
Dried rosemary
Dried thyme
Dried tarragon
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp Kosher salt
Lots of fresh ground pepper
1 tsp paprika

Take a scissor to your herb garden and bring in a bunch of herbs, about 1/4 cup total once they are stripped from the stems.

Clean, and dry the potatoes, then cut into 2 inch pieces (sixths or eights, depending on the size of the potato). Toss in a large bowl with the olive oil. Sprinkle on the herbs and spices and toss to coat evenly. Spread evenly on a large baking sheet or roasting pan in a single layer.

Roast at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-30 mins, turning with a large spatula about halfway through to brown evenly. Serve hot.
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This post is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week at Anna’s Cool Finds, with four years of wonderful archives at Cook Almost Anything.

Brussel Sprouts Gratin with Pine Nuts and Breadcrumb Topping

As I was preparing this dish for dinner, my sister and brother-in-law flatly informed me – “We’re not going to like it. We hate brussel sprouts.” I proceeded to lecture them that the brussel spout flavor they and so many others loved to hate is actually the result of over-cooking, and that I was sure they would love this dish. They did not believe me, and we almost got into a shouting match when I tried to push the point.

You know, of course, how this story ends. Yes! Two more converts to Brussel Sprouts!

Brussel Sprouts Gratin with Pine Nuts and Breadcrumb Topping

This recipe beats my previous fave preparation of sprouts. It’s a modification of a recipe from Bon Appetit that also includes cauliflower. I left the cauliflower out, seeing no need to have to confront the cauliflower haters as well. I use homemade bread crumbs in this recipe. If you use store bought, toast them up in a pan with some olive oil before combining with the pine nuts.

This dish can be assembled beforehand, covered with foil and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking. Increase bake time to 45 minutes if going straight from the fridge to the oven.

3 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed, quartered lengthwise
2 3/4 cups heavy cream or half and half
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
1/2 cup homemade breadcrumbs
1/2 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
3 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Cook brussels sprouts in large pot of salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain. Transfer sprouts to bowl of ice water to cool. Drain well.

Combine cream, shallots, and sage in large saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until mixture is reduced to 2 1/2 cups, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Remove from heat. Cool slightly.

Combine breadcrumbs, pine nuts and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. (Seasoning not needed if you use seasoned homemade crumbs as I do.)

Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish; arrange half of vegetables in dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then 1 1/2 cups Parmesan. Arrange remaining vegetables evenly over, then sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 cups Parmesan. Pour cream mixture evenly over. (Can be made ahead up to this point.)

Cover gratin with foil. Bake covered 40 minutes at 375 degrees fahrenheit. Uncover; sprinkle breadcrumb topping over and bake uncovered 15 minutes longer.

Roasted Baby Eggplant

Hello, little darlings! How CUTE are you??? And those little onions cozied up next to you? Just begging me to take them home and roast them…

Wait. I can’t do this.

I can’t write that “Aren’t these adorable little eggplants I found at the Union Square Farmers Market and look at the wonderful dish I made using them!” blog post I was planning to write.

It would be a lie.

Not because I didn’t buy these little babies, or roast them up with garlic and lemon and olive oil and mint to serve alongside roast lamb chops at a dinner party to a bunch of friends who ate them up so quickly that we wished we’d made more. I actually did all those things.

It’s because the one thing I did not do was eat these adorable little eggplants. Because I don’t like eggplant.

Really. I swear, I am not kidding. I can’t stand eggplant.

I know, I know. You like eggplant. You are not alone on this, trust me. Everyone loves eggplant. Everyone, of course, but me.

I know what you’re thinking – How could anyone not love eggplant?

If you really want to know, I’ll tell you. But I’m a little worried that when I tell you, you won’t like eggplant anymore either. Then you’ll hate me for making you hate eggplant and I’ll feel guilty for ruining every future eggplant experience you might have had. So if you’re easily influenced, or worried on this particular issue or wavering even the slightest bit on the whole eggplant thing, then you might just want to stop reading right now and skip down to the recipe at the bottom, which was really very good according to your eggplant-loving compatriots who ate it.

But if you’re still reading, I’ll tell you why I hate eggplant.

It’s the texture. That sort of rubbery soft sensation that feels like you’re eating something you’re really not supposed to be eating. Like…maybe… Oh, I don’t know.. a cooked alien? Seriously, I think if we were to grill up ET and serve him, he would taste just like an eggplant. And if you leave the skins on – well, now to top it all off, you’ve just made my teeth squeak.

You asked…

It took me years to convince Mr TBTAM that I am not an eggplant lover. He’d cook it up and offer it to me, over and over again, as if he’d never heard what I told him last time he’d made it, which was “I don’t like eggplant”. Or we’d be shopping for something to cook for dinner, and he’d say “How about eggplant?” or “Don’t these eggplants look delicious?” and I would remind him, yet again, that I DON”T LIKE EGGPLANT. Each time would be a new disappointment for him, and he’d look at me as if he had just realized that I was not the person he’d hoped he married.

Of course, being married 24 years, he’s gotten the point by now, and has taken to broiling his own eggplant when he wants it, then ignoring me while he eats it, or ordering Chinese eggplant when we are out, but then of course I can’t share it, even though he’s gotten half of my pan fried noodles. Fine.

My eggplant dislike is well-known in my husband’s family. I think it may have been a bigger issue for his mother than me not being Jewish, which actually, never seemed to be an issue. Of course, in that family, food is like politics, and we all know where every one stands. Peggy hates eggplant. My brother-in-law doesn’t like fish, but loves milk. Irene used to hate cilantro, but now she likes it in small quantities, but she still doesn’t like goat cheese. Mr TBTAM’s sister doesn’t like sugar in her whipped cream, should we make two separate batches or not? His other sister actually swore off garlic, which in my family would be sort of like me leaving the Catholic church, but worse.

Of course, in my family no one cares what food you like or dislike. They’re too busy eating.

The single exception to my “I don’t eat eggplant” rule was Augergines in Spicy Honey Sauce, which actually looks like a cooked alien but tastes wondrous. Maybe it was because the eggplant is called an “Aubergine”, which distracted me long enough to actually taste the eggplant. But I think it was the honey. I’ll pretty much eat anything if it’s sweet. Which is not to say that if I am coming over for dinner, you should go looking for a great honey Aubergine recipe to serve me, because really, I can pretty much promise you I won’t like it.

But I can promise you that you will love this recipe for roasted baby eggplant. After all, how could you not? Those little things really are adorable.

Just like ET.
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Roasted Baby Eggplant

I modified a recipe I found on the Real Simple website. We added in a bunch of those tiny baby onions up there in the photo. Those I ate.

12 baby eggplant
1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
fresh mint leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil

Heat oven to 450°F. Slice each eggplant in half lengthwise, leaving the eggplant halves attached at the top. Arrange the eggplants in a baking dish.

Cut the lemon in half. Thinly slice on of the halves into 12 slices, then cut each slice in half crosswise. Insert the lemon slices into the slit in each eggplant, then press some garlic and mint into each slit. Season with the salt and pepper. Squeeze the juice from the other lemon half and drizzle over the eggplants with the oil. Cover with foil and roast, basting frequently with the juices in the dish, until the eggplants are very soft, about 40 minutes.

Remove foil and roast for 5 more minutes. Transfer to individual plates and serve.

Farmers’Market Foray – Or What to do with Ramps and Fennel

I find the challenge for us as a busy family is incorporating local foods into a busy lifestyle. Our neighborhood Farmer’s market is only open on Saturdays, and we don’t live near enough to Union Square to go there on a regular basis during the week.

And then, of course, there is the fact that Mr TBTAM likes to go to Fairway on the way home from work to see what’s there to inspire tonight’s dinner. So it was a bit of a tussle between us on Saturday as I convinced him to change it up a bit – see what’s at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday when we have time to go together, and plan the week’s menus around that.

We decided to start small. Really small. With a bunch of lovely garlic ramps and some baby anise from the Union Square market.

Our first dinner tonight with Victor, who is with us for two weeks from Barcelona on an exchange student visit, provided the perfect opportunity to use these ingredients in a meal that would show him some traditional American cuisine – Chicken and potatoes. “Ramped up” a bit, of course.

Ramps n’ Taters

Ramps, or wild leeks, are quintessentially American. Appalachian to be more specific. Native to North America and growing wild in the woods, they provide spring sustenance for early Native Americans and mountain folk for generations. Ramps with potatoes and bacon is a traditional Appalachian dish. We cut back significantly on the bacon, but traditional recipes will use up to a pound of it. Add eggs at the end to make it a complete meal.

3 slices Bacon
1 bunch of garlic ramps, thoroughly washed
6 potatoes, washed and cut into bit sized pieces
Salt, pepper and paprika to taste

Wash the ramps well. Cut off the tip of the root and slice into 1/4 inch pieces. Spin or towel dry

Fry the bacon in a skillet till crisp and remove to a paper towel to drain.

Add the potatoes to the bacon fat and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the ramps and fry till done. Crumble and toss in the previously fried bacon and serve.

Sauteed Chicken with Fennel and Rosemary

This is a modification of a recipe from Food and Wine. I know it is probably a bit more Mediterranean than American in flavor, but we used the Farmer’s Market fennel and that made me proud. This dish has a very light and delicious sauce.

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 bunches baby fennel, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 organic chicken legs, split into thighs and drumsticks
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil is a large saute pan over moderately high heat. Add the fennel, 1 tbsp rosemary, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the fennel is golden brown and almost done. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer until the fennel is tender. Remove the fennel and the cooking liquid from the pan.

Wipe out the pan and heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil over moderate heat. Season the chicken with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper. Add the chicken to the pan with the remaining 1 tbsp of rosemary and cook until brown, about 5 minutes. Turn and cook until almost done, about 3 minutes longer. Add the garlic; cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the fennel and its cooking liquid and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cover the pan and remove from the heat. Let steam 5 minutes. Serve, scattering parsley atop the plate.

Think You Hate Brussels Sprouts? Try this Recipe.

As a former brussels sprouts hater, I continue to be surprised at just how delicious this vegetable can be when prepared correctly. This recipe is hands down the best preparation I’ve eaten yet of this much-maligned vegetable.

If you think you hate brussels sprouts, it’s most likely because the ones you’ve eaten have been overcooked. Overcooking brussels sprouts releases Sinigren, a sulfur tasting glucosinate. Sinigren is also found in brocolli, another veggie that tastes best when cooked less.

The best way to prepare Brussels Sprouts is to roast or saute them. Prolonged boiling is a no-no, although a quick blanch will bring out their lovely green color without drawing forth nasty humors.

So now you know. You don’t hate brussels sprouts – just badly cooked brussels sprouts.

Brussels Sprout and Shallot Saute with Golden Raisins and Pine Nuts

This recipe is based on one from Jill Silverman Hough that can be found on Epicurious. I’ve modified it by cutting it in half (sort of), adding golden raisins and cutting back on the butter. It’s still too much fat, but it sure tastes wonderful. I think I could cut the fat and nuts even further and it would still taste great. (Let us know how it turns out if you decide to try that.)

1 pound brussels sprouts, rinsed, outer leaves removed and bases trimmed.
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 tbsp butter
6 medium shallots, thinly sliced (About 1 cup)
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tbsp golden raisins
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Slice brussels sprouts using thin slicing disc of the food processor.

Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add shallots; sauté until almost translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add brussels sprouts and sauté until tender, about 8 minutes, adding raisins during the last 2-3 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon pine nuts and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon pine nuts and serve.
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I’m not the only one cooking Brussels Sprouts!