As I write this post, I’m hanging my head in shame.  You see, dear readers, I’ve been holding out on you.  Not intentionally, mind you, but holding out just the same.  The other day, as I was sifting through recipes to include in my Easter brunch roundup, I re-read my old post on Savory Vegetable Noodle Kugel and realized something.  In that post I told you about a fab recipe for a Cherry Noodle Kugel that I was going to share.  And, I never did.  I swear, I meant to!  It just never happened.  My sin was one of omission, and I intend to rectify it right now!    Since this week also marks the beginning of the Jewish celebration  of Passover, I think it’s the perfect time to do it.    Besides, it gives me an excuse to make this wickedly good kugel again.

Now, before I get thousands of comments informing me that Jews don’t eat wheat products during Passover, let me say that I do know that.  However, Passover is a Jewish holiday and kugel is a Jewish dish, so I’m using one to segue into the other.  Besides, I also know that there are “Passover noodles” made with potato starch, and other gluten-free pasta products available at the supermarket.  Any of them would work in this dish.

I acquired this recipe more years ago than I care to remember from a sweet, Jewish “Bubbe” named Esther.  She and her husband, Jerry, had been old friends of my family for ages.  Since my own grandparents were already gone, I kind of secretly adopted them as surrogates.  Esther was originally from Brooklyn, so she definitely knew a few things about kugel.  Come to think of it, she knew a few things about brisket too.  And, matzoh balls.  But that’s a story for another day. 

Where my vegetable kugel is a savory dish, Esther’s kugel is a sweet one, making it a great choice for dessert.  It also makes for a tasty breakfast and a very satisfying late night nosh.  It’s rich and creamy and fruity.  And, who doesn’t love that?

The recipe for this dish couldn’t be easier.  A simple custard made from eggs, milk, cream cheese, sour cream and sugar is whizzed up in the blender.  Then, it is poured over cooked egg noodles and baked.  A topping of cherry pie filling is added during the last fifteen minutes of baking time.  When everything is browned and bubbly, the kugel is done.  That’s it!

I like to use super fine egg noodles in this kugel, because it gives the dish a smoother, more custardy texture.   Feel free to use the wider ones if that’s what you prefer.  Your kugel won’t be any less scrumptious – and it will be scrumptious.

Whatever you celebrate, make. this. kugel.  You’ll be glad you did.  And, if Esther were here, she would be too.

In my family, we always knew it was a special occasion by the telltale aroma of lasagna baking in the oven.  Neither my grandmother nor my mother made it often.  A traditional lasagna is a labor intensive dish that takes several hours to prepare – even longer if you make your own pasta.  So, it was usually reserved for  holidays and the occasional birthday, christening or graduation party.  Maybe that’s why this classic Italian combination of layers of tender sheets of pasta filled with meat, veggies and ooey, gooey cheese tasted so wonderful to me.  Or, maybe it was because lasagna is just plain wonderful.

The thing is, that with a little advance planning and a few teensy shortcuts, you can make a perfectly scrumptious lasagna in a lot less time than you may think. And, if you prepare it in the form of these luscious, self-contained lasagna rolls, you can easily make enough to stash a batch or two in the freezer for later. How about that! You can enjoy lasagna any old time you feel like it! What a concept!

So, grab an apron and let’s make some lasagna rolls! 

Remember those teensy shortcuts I mentioned?  Well, the first one is using marinara sauce from a jar.  Oh yes, I really did just say that.  I know that cooking a marinara from scratch is preferable, but I’m trying to save you some time here.  And, unless you already have a vat of homemade marinara sauce in your freezer, it’s going to take an extra hour to make some.  Besides, there are some really excellent jar sauces out there made with San Marzano tomatoes, olive oil and other quality ingredients.  So, don’t be a sauce snob.  Embrace the convenience!

Another shortcut I take is using pre-shredded mozzarella.  Sargento makes a very good one, as does Sorrento.  There is no shame in not shredding your own cheese.  Even my mother does it.  I swear.

When I make this dish, I start preparing my filling at the same time I put a big pot of water on to boil for the lasagna sheets.  By the time the pasta is cooked, my filling is all ready to go.

Roll, baby, roll!

Cook your lasagna sheets just to the shy side of al dente.  They will be drenched in sauce and baking for a while.  This will help keep them from falling apart.  Also, be careful not to put too much filling into each roll.  A couple of tablespoons is enough.  If you overdo it, the filling will ooze out during baking.  It will still taste good, but it will look kind of yucky.  Yucky is not a good look for lasagna.

Snugly fit your rolls together in a baking dish and smother them with sauce and cheese.  See!  It looks just like a traditional lasagna, except that it will be a lot easier to serve.

These lasagna rolls can be prepped the night before and will be ready to bake when you get home from work the next day.  They can also be made ahead and frozen in one of two ways.  You can prepare them and freeze either before baking or after.  I prefer to freeze before baking.   If do you freeze them, you’ll need to either thaw them out first, or add at least an extra half hour or so to the baking time.  This is no big deal, as your prep work is already done.

So, don’t wait for a special occasion to treat yourself to these cheesy, meaty, yummy lasagna rolls.  Every day should be a celebration!

My family is not very big on breakfast.  We love breakfast foods.  We just don’t like getting up in the morning any earlier than we have to.  Yeah, I know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, blah, blah, blah.  And, we usually do eat some kind of breakfast.  Except that sometimes, we eat it for dinner. Doesn’t that count? I mean, it’s still breakfast food – right?

A typical morning meal at our house usually consists of yogurt, cereal or bagels.  Not very inspired, I admit, but it gets the job done.  On Saturdays, Mr. SGCC will sometimes make us poached eggs with the special egg poaching pot I got him for Christmas a few years ago.  Buying him that pot was a brilliant move on my part.  Before that, the only thing Mr. SGCC ever cooked up was trouble!

One breakfast-y recipe that I love for both breakfast and dinner is a strata.  A strata is casserole made with bread, eggs and whatever cheese, meats or vegetables you feel like putting into it.  Think of it as a savory bread pudding.   The best thing about a strata is that it’s meant to be made in advance.  In fact, it really must be put together and allowed to sit for several hours before baking.  Overnight is even better.  This is perfect for non-morning people like me, because if I want to serve a strata for breakfast, I make it the night before and just pop it in the oven the next morning.   Likewise, if I want to serve it for dinner, I can mix it up in the morning before I start my day, and bake it when I get home.

When it comes to a strata, almost anything goes.  As I mentioned above, you can literally put whatever you want into it.  It’s a great way to use up any leftover meat, cheese or veggies lurking in your fridge.  Once, I even made one with shrimp and smoked salmon.  (Oooh!  That was a good one!  Remind me to share it with you someday.) This time, I added onions and some deli ham that had overstayed its welcome.

The process for making a strata couldn’t be simpler.  You just layer the bread and other add-ins in a casserole dish, drown them in a mix of eggs and milk and let the whole thing sit until you’re ready for it.  The bread soaks up all of the custard and gets all puffy and golden as it bakes.  Inside, the strata is a mass of cheesy, eggy goodness.  Whether served for breakfast, lunch or dinner, a strata makes a light, but satisfying and delicious meal.

My first introduction to shepherd’s pie was in the lunch line at my high school cafeteria.  That was many more moons ago than I’d care to share.  But, not so long ago that I don’t still remember.  I’d never heard of it before and had no idea what it was.  All I knew was that it was some kind of meat covered with mounds of mashed potatoes.  That was enough for me to give it a try.  And, I liked it, which was more than I can say about the rest of the so called food they served in that cafeteria.  It may have been mystery meat, but it was pretty darn tasty mystery meat.

I never thought much about shepherd’s pie after high school, and spent many years contentedly living my life without it.  It wasn’t until about four years ago, when I found myself in Scotland, that shepherd’s pie and I were reacquainted – and became BFFs.

The exact origin of shepherd’s pie is a bit sketchy.  By some accounts, it is a British dish.  By others, it’s an Irish one.  Still others, swear that the dish’s roots are Scottish.  The only thing that most will agree on is that it came from somewhere over the pond.  I say, who cares?  I’ve enjoyed it in all three countries and have never tasted a version that I didn’t love. 

Shepherd’s pie  is a savory dish made with a meat base – usually ground lamb, beef or a combination of the two -  that is simmered in a brown sauce with vegetables, topped with potatoes and baked to burnished perfection. From what I gather, the dish was created by resourceful housewives as a way to use up leftovers. It makes sense.  Take a little of this and a bit of that, bake it all together in a pie and voilà!  It’s not leftovers anymore.  It’s a whole new and delicious dinner.  I don’t think there is one right way to make it either, as I’ve seen and heard of it done many different ways with an assortment of ingredients.

It’s been a little gray and dreary lately here in SGCC Land!  We’re not getting slammed by the same bitter cold, icy blast  that many of my blog brethren are, but it’s still pretty miserable just the same.   The wind is howling and blowing something fierce outside.  I’m just praying that none of those low-lying branches perched over my roof decide to break loose and fall on my house!  When the weather gets like this my body craves hearty, rustic comfort foods that warm from the inside out.  A shepherd’s pie is the perfect thing.

Making a shepherd’s pie is pretty easy peasy.  For my pie, I used a mixture of ground lamb and beef.  I also added some onions, carrots, peas and corn.  I don’t know about you, but I just can’t eat mashed potatoes without corn.  It must be some kind of personality defect.

The first thing you need to do is sauté your onions and carrots in a frying pan.  Then, add the meat, seasonings and some stock, and let it all simmer for a while.

I thicken the mixture with a little flour, but you don’t really have to if you don’t want to.  I just think it gives a little more body to the sauce.  I also use frozen peas and corn, but if you’re a perfectionist and have loads of extra time on your hands, by all means, use fresh.   But, I’m here to tell you that, in this dish, it really doesn’t make a difference.

Once your meat and veggies are happily bubbling away in their sauce, it’s time to top the pie with some potatoes.  Most people use mashed potatoes for shepherd’s pie, but I’ve seen it done before with sliced potatoes and even hash browns.  I may try it that way one day, but for now, I’m going with mashed.

I like to use my biggest cast iron skillet to make shepherd’s pie.  Doing all of the sautéing, simmering and baking  in one pan, makes things that much easier.  If you love washing extra dishes, you can certainly use a separate casserole dish to bake your pie.  Far be it from me to rain on anyone’s parade.   One thing I do recommend, though, is setting your pie on a baking sheet in the oven.  That sucker bubbles like crazy and tends to drip all over.

AHHH! Now, doesn’t just looking at this shepherd’s pie make you feel all warm and cozy?

Enjoy!

Mr. SGCC is not exactly what you would call a gastronome.  Don’t get me wrong.  He loves to eat and appreciates good food.  But, local and sustainable are words he doesn’t normally associate with with that food.  He doesn’t care if his chicken is free range or if his beef is grass fed. He can’t tell the difference between heirloom tomatoes and any other kind.  And, when it comes to Key lime pie, it’s Sara Lee all the way for him!  As long as whatever dish in front of him tastes good, he’ll eat it.

Mr. SGCC also travels a lot for work.  Several times each month, you’ll find him tooling up and down the highways and in and out of rural towns from Miami to Tallahassee.  Sometimes, he’ll tell me about a guy in Okeechobee he passed selling wild shrimp out of the back of his truck, or a farm stand in Ruskin selling ripe and juicy just-picked tomatoes.  I’ll ask excitedly, “Ooh!  Did you stop and get some?” The answer is always the same.

“Nope. I was in a hurry.  Besides, you can get that stuff here.”

Um….. No, I can’t.  Sigh…..

So, imagine my surprise when he brought a bag full of these home last week. 

In case you don’t recognize them, they’re avocados – Florida avocados to be exact.

Florida avocados are much larger than the more common Hass avocados from California.   And, while Hass avocados have a dark green, dimply skin, our local variety has a smooth, shiny, light green skin.   They’re also not quite as rich and buttery as the Hass.  But, since Mr. SGCC bought these avocados out of a laundry basket from a lady sitting in a lawn chair on the side of the road, I guess they’re about as local as you can get.

And true to form, these avocados were HUGE!  In fact, I’ve has a pretty hard time using them up before they go bad.  I made guacamole, salads and even ice cream with them, and still had some left.  I got a great tip from Elise and also made this recipe with some of the salmon I brought back from Seattle.  (Don’t fret. The ice cream and salmon dish are coming soon!)

Finally, I was down to my last avocado half.  To be honest, as much as we love avocados around here, we were getting a little sick of “avocado-centric” dishes.  So, I decided to mix things up and make a dish that would be complemented, instead of dominated by some avocado.

One of my favorite Mexican dishes is Enchiladas Suizas.  Usually filled with chicken, these enchiladas are smothered with a creamy, dreamy, cheesy sauce and baked, casserole-style.  Suiza means Swiss, and in Mexican cuisine is used to describe a dish is topped with a white, dairy-based sauce.  I had tried my hand at making Enchiladas Suizas before and was less than thrilled with the results.  Mine always turned out a little bland and too creamy (if there is such a thing).  So, I grazed a bit around the web and nibbled on a little of this and a bite of that to come up with a few ideas to spice up my enchiladas.

Here’s how I made them.

The first thing I did was buy a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket for my enchilada filling.  You heard me. This recipe calls for shredded, cooked chicken. Why spend time cooking up chicken at home when you can buy  it already done for you?  Plus, an average-sized rotisserie chicken will yield perfect amount of meat needed for this filling. So, do yourself a favor.  Buy a rotisserie chicken and get over it.

Next, you have to make the suiza sauce.  There are several ways to do this.  Some recipes start with a béchamel and add cheese and tomatillos.  Others simply use a puree of tomatillo sauce and Mexican crema or sour cream.  On a Thursday night I’m all about the simple, so I went with version two.  My little twist here is that I also added some roasted poblano peppers to the puree for a little extra zing.  If you don’t feel like roasting poblanos, you can also use a few cans of fire-roasted green chiles.  It doesn’t pack quite the same punch, but it works.  I’m here to make your lives easier.  I’m considerate like that.

If you do feel up to roasting some peppers, there are a few different methods you can use.  If you’re lucky enough to have a gas stove, you can roast them right on top of one of the burners.  Here is the link to a quick video that shows how to do it.  If you’re like me and stuck with electric, you can also roast the poblanos under the broiler.  First, turn on the broiler and place the poblanos on a baking sheet lined with some foil.  I like to rub a smidgen of oil on them to help things along.  Put the peppers in the oven, about 4-5 inches from the the broiler element. They will deflate and the skins will blister and turn black. Turn the peppers as needed to char all sides evenly.   Then, remove the roasted poblanos from the oven, place them in a paper bag and seal the bag.  Allow the peppers to sweat in the bag for about 10 to 15 minutes. When you remove them from the bag they will be easy to peel.  Peel the skin off of the poblanos and remove the seeds and stem.  Then all you have to do is dice them up.

After your sauce is made, it’s time to prepare the filling.  Sauté the chicken with diced onions.  I threw some of the poblanos in there too.  Add a little chicken broth and crema to moisten it up.

The filling should look like this – nice and creamy, but not too wet.

Then, fill some tortillas with some filling and roll them up.  You can use either flour or corn tortillas.  I used flour because the tortilleria near my house had just made fresh ones.  You just can’t beat homemade, still-warm-from-the-press tortillas!

Line ‘em up in a baking dish, pour on the suiza sauce and sprinkle with lots of cheese.

After you bake them, they should look something like this.

Mmmm! Muy delicioso!

Now, you’re probably wondering where the avocado fits into all of this.  Well, I made a jaunty little salsa with it to top the enchiladas.   It was the perfect complement too.  The acid from the lime juice and the punch of the cilantro really offset the richness of the suiza sauce.

Let me tell you, people.  These Enchiladas Suizas were the best I’ve ever eaten – even in a Mexican Restaurant!  They were seriously To. Die. For. You absolutely have to make them for yourselves.  And when you do, don’t bother to thank me.  Your happiness is thanks enough! 

Enjoy!

There’s one thing about Mr. SGCC that drives me absolutely nuts.  (Well, there’s actually more than one thing, but that’s a story for another day.) He suffers in silence.  That is to say that, when he doesn’t like something, he usually just sucks it up and doesn’t say anything.  This especially applies to food.  I know this because over the past twenty something years, I have made and remade several dishes that he didn’t really like, yet he never said so – until maybe the tenth time I served it.  Case in point:  When we were first married, I used to cook a lot of spaghetti squash.  I served it like pasta with tomato sauce, sautéed in butter, swimming in broth… You get the picture.  I loved it.  He didn’t.  But, he never actually told me that he didn’t like spaghetti squash until years later, when it just kind of came up in conversation.

Imagine how awful I felt learning this little nugget of information after years of shoving pounds of spaghetti squash in his face!   I had no idea!

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” I asked incredulously.

“I don’t know. I guess I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.” was his response.

Admirable intentions.  Poor execution.

HMMPH!

So, when I found one of these big boys in my veggie basket from Suncoast Organics this week, I found myself in a quandary.  Don’t you just love saying the word “quandary”?  I do.  Quandary. Quandary. Quandary.  There, I think I’ve gotten it out of my system now.

Anyway, I didn’t want to serve it to “you-know-who” when I knew that he didn’t like it. Especially when he knew that I knew he didn’t like it.   But, I certainly didn’t want to waste it either.  After some deliberation, I decided to do the only thing I could do given the circumstances.  I would try to disguise the squash by baking it in a casserole under tons of creamy Mornay sauce made with lots of butter and cheese.   I mean, everybody loves rich, cheesy, buttery sauces, right?  He’d probably never even know. Right?

And that, dear readers, is how this Spaghetti Squash Gratin came to be.

To make this gratin, you first have to cook the spaghetti squash.  There are a couple of ways you can do it.  You can steam or boil it, microwave it, although I’ve never tried that, or bake it in the oven.  My method of choice is baking.   While your squash is cooking, you’ll need to prepare the sauce. A Mornay sauce is simply a béchamel sauce amped up with shredded cheese, and is very easy to make.

Don’t forget the cheese!

Once your squash is cooked and your sauce is made, it’s time to put them all together.

Et voila!

One thing I should mention here, is that I also mixed some sautéed onions in with the squash before baking it.  You don’t have to do this.  But I love onions and thought that they would add a nice flavor to the dish – which they did.

The gratin was (Kat Flinn, please forgive me) absolutely delicious!  The squash was soft, delicate and just the tiniest bit sweet.  The sauce was voluptuous and velvety.  And the crunchy topping added just the right amount of texture.  It was a very successful dish that I plan to make again.

Oh, and Mr. SGCC did recognize the spaghetti squash, but he ate it anyway and said that he liked it.  I guess I’ll just have to trust him on that one.

Enjoy!

First of all, I’d like to wish all the Dads out there a very Happy Father’s Day!  Then, I’d like to remind all the daughters out there who still have their Dads with them how lucky they are.  I lost my father three and a half years ago and I’d give anything to have just one more day with him.  He was a wonderful man and I miss him terribly. Cherish each moment with your loved ones. Time flies by so quickly and there are no “do overs”.

Now that I’ve thoroughly cheered you up, let me tell you about the special Father’s Day dinner I made for Mr. SGCC.  There’s a little Mexican place in town we like to go to called Mi Pueblo.  They have good, fresh food at reasonable prices. Plus, they have a cute old guy that walks around with his guitar, serenading the diners at each table.  It isn’t the Frontera Grill, but we like it.  Our favorite dish at Mi Pueblo is their chiles rellenos.  They make then with these humongous poblano peppers that are stuffed with lots of well-seasoned meat and cheese.  Mr. SGCC absolutely loves them!  I don’t do a lot of Mexican at home, but I decided to try to recreate them for him.

Since I had never made chiles rellenos before, I turned to the guru of Mexican cuisine, Rick Bayless of the Frontera Grill, for guidance.  His chile rellenos are so popular that people line up outside the restaurant an hour before the doors open just to make sure they can get some.  In fact, the restaurant regularly sells out of them within the first twenty minutes!  I figured if Frontera Grill’s chiles rellenos were that hot, they must be good. So, that’s the recipe I decided to go with.  Little did I know at the time what I was in for!

First of all, the recipe is good – very good, in fact.  It is also, however, very long and time consuming as well.  There are four different components in this dish and each requires several steps.   None of the individual steps are particularly difficult, but there are a lot of them.  And be forewarned, you will probably need to hose down your kitchen after you’re finished! 

The first component you need to make is the tomato sauce which is used in both the meat filling and the serving sauce.  It’s an aromatic sauce flavored with onion, Serrano chiles, cinnamon and cloves.  If I had it to do over again, I would probably make this sauce a day or two ahead.  It keeps just fine in the fridge and doing do will cut a good an hour off of your prep time.

The next thing you have to do is make a tomato broth, which is served tableside with the finished chiles rellenos.  All this involves is simmering some of the previously made tomato sauce with some chicken or beef broth.  This is the easiest step in the recipe, but it does require at least forty-five minutes of cooking time.

After that, you need to make the meat filling for the rellenos.  Bayless calls it picadillo.  It’s made with ground pork shoulder, simmered with more of the tomato sauce, vinegar, raisins and almonds.  Very, very tasty!  Both the picadillo and the tomato broth can also be made ahead.

Then, it’s time to prepare the peppers, themselves.  Here is where things get tricky.  Bayless says to roast the poblanos until their skins get blistered and blackened.  Then he says to cut a slit down the side of each, rinsing and removing the seeds as you go, taking care not to tear the peppers.  Have any of you ever tried this?  I’m sorry, but it’s impossible!

My peppers looked perfect when they came out of the oven.  But, the minute I cut into them to remove the seeds, they started to disintegrate! As I tried to stuff them, they just fell apart. I felt like Dr. Kildare as I frantically tried to plug up the rips and holes by shoving in toothpicks everywhere!  By the time I got the peppers all stuffed, there were shreds of pepper skin, pepper seeds and blobs of picadillo smeared all over the place!  I just prayed that battering and frying them would hold them together at least enough so that we could eat them.  I had already given up any hope of getting a decent picture!

Oh, and that was the really fun part –  the battering and frying.  Bayless advises to freeze the stuffed peppers before attempting this step.  I did and it didn’t help me at all.  Plus, I lost another whole hour while my stuffed poblanos sat in the deep freeze!

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m scared of deep frying.  Boiling hot oil and I do not get along – and I have the scars to prove it!  I’m not ashamed of this. It is what it is. So, I really have to have a good reason to attempt it.  I guessed that Father’s Day was as good a reason as any, so I sucked it up and kept going.

I prepared the batter without any trouble. It was a nice, light and fluffy batter, by the way. Bayless says to hold the peppers by their stems, dip them into the batter and quickly pull them straight out  and into the hot oil. Is he kidding?!?! The moment I tried to dip the first pepper in by its stem, the stem broke off and the pepper sank straight to the bottom of the batter bowl.  I tried to fish it out using a fork, and that beautiful picadillo filling came squishing out of every orifice!  I finally just dug my hands in the bowl, grabbed the pepper and plopped it into the oil.   And, you know what?  The batter immediately started to puff up and turn a lovely shade of golden brown.  After a few minutes, instead of looking like a mutilated lump of mush, that pepper actually started to resemble a chile relleno!  That batter was like the Spanx of Mexican cooking! It smoothed out and covered almost every flaw.

I dipped (with my bare hands) and fried the rest of the peppers as fast as I could while I was still on a roll.  I didn’t dare stop for a second to take a picture. Then, I lined them up in a baking dish, doused them with sauce, smothered them with cheese and tossed them in the oven to bake. Both my kitchen and I were covered in picadillo guts, foamy batter and tomato sauce!  Bayless’s recipe doesn’t say to do all this, but I did it anyway. It was all about camouflage, baby!

Take a look.

Not bad, huh?  You have to admit that with all of that zesty tomato sauce and gooey, melted cheese on top, those chiles rellenos look pretty darn appetizing!  You’d never know what a mangled mess they were underneath!

And, OMG, were they delicious!  I hadn’t tasted Mexican food this good since…well… practically ever!  Not even when I was actually in Mexico last week.  Seriously. These chiles rellenos made Mi Pueblo’s version look like they came from Taco Bell!  Mr. SGCC was in chiles rellenos heaven!  He thinks I’m a goddess!  And, after having him heap mountains of praise on me for preparing such a fabulous feast for him, I stupidly replied with a shy smile, “Oh, it was nothing!”.  He believed me and is already bugging me to make them again.  Sigh….. The things we do for love.

Enjoy!

Have you ever been sorting through your food pics and found a bunch that you forgot about and never posted on?  Well, that never happens to me.  Usually, I cook food and it is either gobbled up before I ever have a chance to photograph it, it’s late and I’m too tired to photograph it, or I get so busy that it sits in the fridge until it starts to decay and then I can’t photograph it.  So, imagine what a nice surprise it was for me to find these photos of a delicious cauliflower gratin that I made a few months ago.  I really meant to share it with you then, but I totally forgot!  Better late than never, I guess. 

In French, “le gratin” means crust and the verb “gratiner” means to brown.  Thus, a gratin is a sort of a French casserole in which ingredients are topped with a mixture of breadcrumbs, grated cheese and butter that are baked or broiled to form a golden crust on top.  It is traditionally served right from the oven in its baking dish.  Gotta love that!

For my cauliflower gratin, I used a recipe from Ina Garten’s Barefoot in Paris.  It’s a pretty easy one that doesn’t take a whole lot of time to execute.  That’s what I love about Ina’s recipes.  They’re written so that real people can actually make them at home without having to hire a kitchen staff!  Plus, they always work AND they taste great.  What could be better than that?

The foundation of this gratin is, of course, the cauliflower.  However, you can make a gratin – especially this gratin – with any vegetables you choose.   Frankly, since whatever you use is going to be bathed in an incredibly creamy, rich, cheesy béchamel sauce, who really cares!   Actually, I’m just kidding about that part, (um…not really).   My point is that no matter what ingredients you decide to “gratin” using this recipe, the result will be fabulous!

So, let’s get started!

First, you need to cook your cauliflower until it’s “al dente”.  This takes about 5-6 minutes.

Then, make the cheesy béchamel sauce.  Don’t let the fancy French name throw you.  It’s really easy!

Don’t forget the cheese!

Put it all together…

And bake!

Voila!

Mmmm!!!

Doesn’t that look just marvelous?  Trust me, it is!  This cauliflower gratin is simple and rustic enough to whip up for a casual, weeknight meal, yet it’s classy enough to serve to company.  An added perk is that it can be served hot or at room temperature, so it makes a perfect “make ahead” dish.    And, look how nicely this dish goes with the color red.  This means that it will look beautiful on your Holiday buffet!  There you go.  Now, you have no excuse not to make this one!

Cauliflower Gratin
adapted from Barefoot in Paris

Ingredients:

1 (3-pound) head cauliflower, cut into large florets
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups hot milk
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3/4 cup freshly grated Gruyere, divided
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs (I used leftover herb stuffing mix.)

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2.  Cook the cauliflower florets in a large pot of boiling salted water for 5 to 6 minutes, until tender but still firm. Drain.

3.  Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture and stir until it comes to a boil. Boil, whisking constantly, for 1 minute, or until thickened. Off the heat, add 1 teaspoon of salt, the pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup of the Gruyere, and the Parmesan.

4.  Pour 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of an 8 by 11 by 2-inch baking dish. Place the drained cauliflower on top and then spread the rest of the sauce evenly on top. Combine the bread crumbs with the remaining 1/4 cup of Gruyere and sprinkle on top. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and drizzle over the gratin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Buon giorno, amici! It’s Daring Bakers time again, and this month my colleagues and I are channeling our inner Italian Nonnas. We’ve replaced our vanilla beans with spinach, our buttercream with béchamel and our ganache with ragu. We’ve made lasagne, and lots of it, from scratch – including the pasta. It’s challenges like this one that put the “daring” in Daring Bakers!

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

Lasagne is one of those dishes that lends itself to many different interpretations. Even within Italy, it varies from region to region, usually based upon ingredients commonly found in each. In the southern part of the country, lasagne would most likely include a tomato-based sauce, ricotta cheese and fresh mozzarella. The classic lasagne of Emilia-Romagna uses only Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, a meat-based Bolognese sauce and nutmeg flavored béchamel sauce. It should also be made with pasta verdi, or green pasta sheets, which is egg pasta with added spinach.

I have to say that I was really excited when I learned about this challenge. My dog-eared copy of The Splendid Table is one of my favorite cookbooks. I’ve actually even made this lasagne before, although I must confess that I bought my pasta verdi from my local Italian market. I do own a pasta maker, but it’s a real pain to use. It is the old-fashioned kind that you have screw onto the counter and crank by hand. My counter tops have rounded edges and the darn thing is always falling off.

After a few minutes of fretting about how I was going to get that pasta made, I had a light bulb moment.

My mother has one of these fancy schmancy electric pasta machines! Isn’t it pretty? Hmmm. I thought I’d just give her a call and ask if she like to make some lasagne with me. And, guess what? She did. Problem solved!

So, last Sunday I shopped for our ingredients, loaded up the car with all of my props, camera gear and assorted other stuff and drove the four blocks over to Mom’s. Yes, I said four blocks. What? You didn’t think I was going to haul all of that crap over there on my bicycle, did you?

As I was heading out, I got a call from my best girlfriend, Susan. She wanted to know if I could photograph something for her, so I told her to meet me at Mom’s and she could help us make some lasagne. While Susan was on her way over, she got a call from our other best girlfriend, Amanda. Before I could say Bolognese, Amanda was on her way over to help too!

The girls showed up with lots of enthusiasm and bottles of champagne. They are fabulousness personified! We laughed, we toasted (not Mom), we gossiped, we took lots of pictures and we made some killer lasagne! From start to finish, the whole process took about eight hours! The time kind of flew by, though, because we were really enjoying ourselves. In fact, we had so much fun, we’ve decided to make it a monthly event. So, each month, we’ll pick a recipe, meet at someone’s house and cook, drink and eat! Hopefully, I’ll be able to share it all with you here.

Here are Mom’s hands, chopping up the spinach for the pasta verdi. (She’s a little camera shy. It must run in the family.)

Here’s Amanda and me rolling out the pasta sheets.

I look a little blurry because Susan took the shot with a champagne glass in one hand and her cell phone in the other. Did I mention she is a high-powered business woman?

Aren’t our pasta sheets the prettiest color green? I was so thrilled at how perfect they turned out! And, check out this gorgeous, rich and meaty ragu!

Here’s Mom pretending to be “The Flash”. She kept moving around so much, that I couldn’t get a decent shot of her. (I told you she was camera shy. Or maybe I had one too many glasses of champagne.)

While our lasagne was baking, we turned the leftover pasta sheets into tagliatelle. Now, doesn’t THAT look good?

Aaah! Just look at that magnificent hunk of lasagne in all its oozey glory! Let me tell you, it was as wonderful as it looks!

Even the Little Guy wanted in.

Many thanks to Mary, Melinda and Enza for choosing such a terrific recipe for us this month! It wasn’t the typical DB challenge, but it was a great change of pace. If you’d like to see a bazillion more lasagne dishes, head on over to the Daring Bakers Blogroll. Then, check out our brand new gorgeous web site: http://thedaringkitchen.com/. (You might even find a little something about moi there.)

Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna (Lasagne Verdi al Forno)
(Serves 8 to 10 as a first course, 6 to 8 as a main dish)

Preparation Time: 15 minutes to assemble and 40 minutes cooking time

10 quarts (9 litres) salted water
1 recipe Spinach Pasta cut for lasagna (recipe follows)#1
1 recipe Bechamel Sauce (recipe follows)#2
1 recipe Country Style Ragu (recipe follows)#3
1 cup (4 ounces/125g) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Method
Working Ahead:
The ragu and the béchamel sauce can be made up to three days ahead. The ragu can also be frozen for up to one month. The pasta can be rolled out, cut and dried up to 24 hours before cooking. The assembled lasagne can wait at room temperature (20 degrees Celsius/68 degrees Fahrenheit) about 1 hour before baking. Do not refrigerate it before baking, as the topping of béchamel and cheese will overcook by the time the center is hot.

Assembling the Ingredients:
Have all the sauces, rewarmed gently over a medium heat, and the pasta at hand. Have a large perforated skimmer and a large bowl of cold water next to the stove. Spread a double thickness of paper towels over a large counter space. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Oil or butter a 3 quart (approx 3 litre) shallow baking dish.

Cooking the Pasta:
Bring the salted water to a boil. Drop about four pieces of pasta in the water at a time. Cook about 2 minutes. If you are using dried pasta, cook about 4 minutes, taste, and cook longer if necessary. The pasta will continue cooking during baking, so make sure it is only barely tender. Lift the lasagne from the water with a skimmer, drain, and then slip into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking. When cool, lift out and dry on the paper towels. Repeat until all the pasta is cooked.

Assembling the Lasagne:
Spread a thin layer of béchamel over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange a layer of about four overlapping sheets of pasta over the béchamel. Spread a thin layer of béchamel (about 3 or 4 spoonfuls) over the pasta, and then an equally thin layer of the ragu. Sprinkle with about 1&1/2 tablespoons of the béchamel and about 1/3 cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers until all ingredients are used, finishing with béchamel sauce and topping with a generous dusting of cheese.

Baking and Serving the Lasagne:
Cover the baking dish lightly with foil, taking care not to let it touch the top of the lasagne. Bake 40 minutes, or until almost heated through. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes, or until hot in the center (test by inserting a knife – if it comes out very warm, the dish is ready). Take care not to brown the cheese topping. It should be melted, creamy looking and barely tinged with a little gold. Turn off the oven, leave the door ajar and let the lasagne rest for about 10 minutes. Then serve. This is not a solid lasagne, but a moist one that slips a bit when it is cut and served.

#1 Spinach Egg Pasta (Pasta Verde)

Preparation: 45 minutes

Makes enough for 6 to 8 first course servings or 4 to 6 main course servings, equivalent to 1 pound (450g) dried boxed pasta.

2 jumbo eggs (2 ounces/60g or more)
10 ounces (300g) fresh spinach, rinsed dry, and finely chopped; or 6 ounces (170g) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
3&1/2 cups (14 ounces/400g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour (organic stone ground preferred)

Working by Hand:

Equipment

A roomy work surface, 24 to 30 inches deep by 30 to 36 inches (60cm to 77cm deep by 60cm to 92cm). Any smooth surface will do, but marble cools dough slightly, making it less flexible than desired.

A pastry scraper and a small wooden spoon for blending the dough.

A wooden dowel-style rolling pin. In Italy, pasta makers use one about 35 inches long and 2 inches thick (89cm long and 5cm thick). The shorter American-style pin with handles at either end can be used, but the longer it is, the easier it is to roll the pasta.
Note: although it is not traditional, Enza has successfully made pasta with a marble rolling pin, and this can be substituted for the wooden pin, if you have one.

Plastic wrap to wrap the resting dough and to cover rolled-out pasta waiting to be filled. It protects the pasta from drying out too quickly.

A sharp chef’s knife for cutting pasta sheets.

Cloth-covered chair backs, broom handles, or specially designed pasta racks found in cookware shops for draping the pasta.

Mixing the dough:
Mound the flour in the center of your work surface and make a well in the middle. Add the eggs and spinach. Use a wooden spoon to beat together the eggs and spinach. Then gradually start incorporating shallow scrapings of flour from the sides of the well into the liquid. As you work more and more flour into the liquid, the well’s sides may collapse. Use a pastry scraper to keep the liquids from running off and to incorporate the last bits of flour into the dough. Don’t worry if it looks like a hopelessly rough and messy lump.

Kneading:
With the aid of the scraper to scoop up unruly pieces, start kneading the dough. Once it becomes a cohesive mass, use the scraper to remove any bits of hard flour on the work surface – these will make the dough lumpy. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes. Its consistency should be elastic and a little sticky. If it is too sticky to move easily, knead in a few more tablespoons of flour. Continue kneading about 10 minutes, or until the dough has become satiny, smooth, and very elastic. It will feel alive under your hands. Do not shortcut this step. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and let it relax at room temperature 30 minutes to 3 hours.

Stretching and Thinning:
If using an extra-long rolling pin work with half the dough at a time. With a regular-length rolling pin, roll out a quarter of the dough at a time and keep the rest of the dough wrapped. Lightly sprinkle a large work surface with flour. The idea is to stretch the dough rather than press down and push it. Shape it into a ball and begin rolling out to form a circle, frequently turning the disc of dough a quarter turn. As it thins outs, start rolling the disc back on the pin a quarter of the way toward the center and stretching it gently sideways by running the palms of your hands over the rolled-up dough from the center of the pin outward. Unroll, turn the disc a quarter turn, and repeat. Do twice more.

Stretch and even out the center of the disc by rolling the dough a quarter of the way back on the pin. Then gently push the rolling pin away from you with one hand while holding the sheet in place on the work surface with the other hand. Repeat three more times, turning the dough a quarter turn each time.

Repeat the two processes as the disc becomes larger and thinner. The goal is a sheet of even thickness. For lasagne, the sheet should be so thin that you can clearly see your hand through it and see colors. Cut into rectangles about 4 by 8 inches (10 x 20 cm). Note: Enza says that transparency is a crucial element of lasagne pasta and the dough should be rolled as thinly as possible. She says this is why her housekeeper has such strong arms!

Dry the pasta at room temperature and store in a sealed container or bag.

#2 Bechamel

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons (2 ounces/60g) all purpose unbleached (plain) flour, organic stone ground preferred
2&2/3 cups (approx 570ml) milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Using a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over low to medium heat. Sift over the flour, whisk until smooth, and then stir (without stopping) for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk a little at a time and keep the mixture smooth. Bring to a slow simmer, and stir 3 to 4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Season with salt, pepper, and a hint of nutmeg.

#3 Country Style Ragu’ (Ragu alla Contadina)

Preparation Time: Ingredient Preparation Time 30 minutes and Cooking time 2 hours

Makes enough sauce for 1 recipe fresh pasta or 1 pound/450g dried pasta)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (45 ml)
2 ounces/60g pancetta, finely chopped
1 medium onion, minced
1 medium stalk celery with leaves, minced
1 small carrot, minced
4 ounces/125g boneless veal shoulder or round
4 ounces/125g pork loin, trimmed of fat, or 4 ounces/125g mild Italian sausage (made without fennel)
8 ounces/250g beef skirt steak, hanging tender, or boneless chuck blade or chuck center cut (in order of preference)
1 ounce/30g thinly sliced Prosciutto di Parma
2/3 cup (5 ounces/160ml) dry red wine
1 &1/2 cups (12 ounces/375ml) chicken or beef stock (homemade if possible)
2 cups (16 ounces/500ml) milk
3 canned plum tomatoes, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Working Ahead:
The ragu can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. It also freezes well for up to 1 month. Skim the fat from the ragu’ before using it.

Browning the Ragu Base:
Heat the olive oil in a 12 inch (30cm) skillet (frying pan) over medium-high heat. Have a large saucepan handy to use once browning is complete. Add the pancetta and minced vegetables and sauté, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, 10 minutes, or until the onions barely begin to color. Coarsely grind all the meats together, including the prosciutto, in a food processor or meat grinder. Stir into the pan and slowly brown over medium heat. First the meats will give off a liquid and turn dull gray but, as the liquid evaporates, browning will begin. Stir often, scooping under the meats with the wooden spatula. Protect the brown glaze forming on the bottom of the pan by turning the heat down. Cook 15 minutes, or until the meats are a deep brown. Turn the contents of the skillet into a strainer and shake out the fat. Turn them into the saucepan and set over medium heat.

Reducing and Simmering: Add the wine to the skillet, lowering the heat so the sauce bubbles quietly. Stir occasionally until the wine has reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Scrape up the brown glaze as the wine bubbles. Then pour the reduced wine into the saucepan and set the skillet aside.

Stir ½ cup stock into the saucepan and let it bubble slowly, 10 minutes, or until totally evaporated. Repeat with another ½ cup stock. Stir in the last 1/2 cup stock along with the milk. Adjust heat so the liquid bubbles very slowly. Partially cover the pot, and cook 1 hour. Stir frequently to check for sticking.

Add the tomatoes, crushing them as they go into the pot. Cook uncovered, at a very slow bubble for another 45 minutes, or until the sauce resembles a thick, meaty stew. Season with salt and pepper.

***Dinner and a Movie Reminder***

I also want to remind you that this month’s Dinner and a Movie day is tomorrow, March 28. This month’s movie is Moonstruck, which should provide lots of inspiration. If you’d like to participate, you can find the details here or here. I hope that you’ll join us!

]]> http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/2009/03/27/daring-bakers-italian-style-lasagne-verdi-al-forno-and-moonstruck-reminder/feed/ 65 http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/2009/01/29/savory-vegetable-noodle-kugel-for-rfj/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=savory-vegetable-noodle-kugel-for-rfj http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/2009/01/29/savory-vegetable-noodle-kugel-for-rfj/#comments Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:39:00 +0000 Susan http://stickygooeycreamychewy.com/?p=222 The ingredients for this month’s Royal Foodie Joust were chosen by Billy from A Table for Two. Billy took pity on us and selected ingredients that would lend themselves to simple preparations. After the hustle and bustle of the Holidays, it was much appreciated! He decided on mushrooms, cauliflower …]]>

The ingredients for this month’s Royal Foodie Joust were chosen by Billy from A Table for Two. Billy took pity on us and selected ingredients that would lend themselves to simple preparations. After the hustle and bustle of the Holidays, it was much appreciated! He decided on mushrooms, cauliflower and noodles.

For those few that may not be familiar with the Royal Foodie Joust, it is the brainchild of our own lovely and talented Jenn, The Leftover Queen. It’s a monthly cooking competition for members of The Foodie Blogroll. Each month, the previous month’s winner chooses three ingredients and the rest of us go crazy trying to create a delicious dish incorporating all three ingredients into it! Then, all of the members are invited to vote on their favorite. And so it goes…..

The first RFJ that I entered was back in October, 2008. I made a Creamy Gorgonzola, Fennel & Pear Tart, and was flabbergasted to learn that I had actually won! I’ve been really anxious to try my luck again ever since.

I didn’t want to just throw together a regular pasta dish for this one. I needed to figure out something a little more original. One of my favorite noodle dishes has always been a noodle or lochshen kugel.

A Jewish specialty, a kugel is a baked casserole-like dish, featuring either noodles or potatoes and anything else that the chef who is making it desires. Kugels may be sweet or savory, but the most popular kinds are those served as desserts. (BTW, I have a killer Cherry Cheese Kugel recipe that I promise to share with you one day.)

Anyway, I didn’t think mushrooms and cauliflower would work too well in a dessert dish, so I came up with a savory kugel using vegetables and goat cheese. I used the required mushrooms and cauliflower in my dish, as well as onions and carrots (for sweetness and color). You could use any vegetable and seasoning combination you like. I think that this recipe is very versatile that way. I also toyed with the idea of adding bacon or chopped ham. I didn’t because I wanted to keep it vegetarian, but I do intend to try it that way next time.

I started out by cooking some onions down in butter and olive oil until they were really soft and sweet. Then, I added each of the other vegetables in, one by one, and sauteed them until tender. The binder for my kugel was a mixture of the traditional cottage cheese, sour cream and eggs, but with a twist. I also blended in a healthy dose of soft and creamy goat cheese, or chevre. That little bit of tanginess from that velvety chevre made all the difference. It was subtle, but definitely there. And, it was the perfect counterpoint to the mellow sweetness of the onions.

I was so pleased with the way that this kugel turned out! It was a really delicious dish and a big hit at Chez SGCC. It is also a great dish for a buffet, because it can be made in advance and is best served at room temperature. There is nothing fussy or complicated about it either. Hell, if I could do it standing on one foot, anybody with two good feet should have no trouble!

If any of you Foodie Blogrollers like my kugel as much as I do, please take a minute to hop on over to the forum when the voting begins and……

VOTE FOR ME!

Please and Pretty Please? I’ll love you forever!

Enjoy!