back in the swing

Erm - we were having a few technical difficulties over here, as in our hard drive packed up and left on holidays and we had to get a replacement. Still, we had a lovely, sunny summer with picnics at the beach and lots of fruit galettes. And crepes. Have you read Molly's ode to crepes? I love the way she makes everything she writes about seem so doable. So I have - made crepes several times this summer. Usually of a weekend morning, if fact, one morning, after hearing me putter around in the kitchen, my husband was most put out when it turned out, on that particular morning, that I hadn't been making crepes. So the crepe recipe is a hit. Also a hit has been Deb's burst tomato, corn and zucchini galette. We've had it most weeks since she posted the recipe, sometimes more than once. Hopefully, I'll remember this recipe next summer.

And one night, I had the galette filling and a stack of crepes in the fridge, so I combined the two. It was a lovely idea and made a delicious patio dinner outside, with the wasps. We didn't let them join in with us, though.

Molly's Crepes from remedial eating
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup flour, unbleached all-purpose or whole wheat
1 1/4 cup milk, ideally 2% or higher
3 tablespoons salted butter

Add the eggs to a mixing bowl, along with the salt and sugar. Whisk well, for about 30 seconds. Add half of the flour and half of the milk and whisk until no lumps remain. Then add the rest of the flour and milk and whisk again until no lumps remain. Melt the butter in your crepe pan. Pour 2 tbsp into your crepe batter and reserve the rest to grease your crepe pan. Use a 1/3 or 1/4 c measure to bring the crepe batter to the pan, swirl the batter until the bottom of the pan is covered and cook until the edges start to curl and brown. Flip and cook until slightly brown. Transfer to a plate and continue cooking until all the batter is gone. The crepes keep in the fridge for a few days, layered between sheets of wax paper and well wrapped in plastic wrap.You can also freeze them.

Filling - burst tomato, zucchini and corn from smitten kitchen
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon coarse Kosher
3 cups grape tomatoes
1 ear corn, cut from the cob (about 1 cup)
1 small zucchini, diced (or substitute 1 medium eggplant, diced and roasted)
1/2 bundle green onions, thinly sliced
10 basil leaves, sliced thinly
1/2 cup grated parmesan

In a saute pan, heat the oil. Add the tomatoes and salt and heat over medium high heat until the tomatoes have burst. Add the zucchini and cook for about 2 minutes, lowering the heat slightly. Add the corn and cook for another minute. Take the mixture off the heat and add the onions and basil.

To assemble the crepes, sprinkle a couple of pinches of parmesan over 1/4 of the crepe (triangle), add a couple of tablespoons of filling and then fold the crepe over the filling (in half, then in quarters). Continue until all the crepes or filling are used up. Place the filled crepes on a baking sheet and heat in a 350 deg F oven for about 10 minutes until the crepes are warmed through and the cheese is melted. Serve with a thin bechamel if desired.

new supper challenge

In an effort to break out of my dinner rut, I took up the challenge Jenny issued over at Dinner, A love Story – to have 7 new things in 14 days. So how am I doing so far?

Not too badly.

I started off with a Southwestern Potato Salad I found over at Everyone Loves Sandwiches. I cut back on the sweet potato (I used to 2 instead of the 3 called for) and added a cup of cooked farro. We loved it.

Next up was caramelized cabbage, anchovy and breadcrumb pasta which was good and quick and not so new as to be jarring to our dinner palates.

Based on another suggestion over at DALS, I made sausage tacos another night and they went down very well. I served them with roasted pepper and onions with avocado instead of the called for spinach.

Saturday I served up Luisa’s meatballs from the freezer in a mushroom cream sauce, vaguely inspired by an article in this month’s Martha Stewart magazine.

Sunday night I made pork chops in a horseradish and apple cider glaze taken from Deb’s book Smitten Kitchen cookbook and served them up with a celery root puree of my own devising and a green salad. Another new favourite.

Also on Sunday I made a batch of Winter Soup with Butternut Squash and Cauliflower from Cookin’ Canuck which we had for supper with grilled cheese sandwiches on Thursday night.

And for the 7^th dish, I ended up trying ChickenTeriyaki from David Lebovitz. I didn’t thicken the glaze as directed which was a mistake. Next time I’ll try baking the chicken under the broiler to simulate grilling, while basting with a thickened glaze.

This afternoon, I started some beef short ribs for tomorrow nights’ birthday supper for a certain boy who’s turning 7. He may not eat them but the rest of us will. Now I just have to settle on a cake recipe because that is a must.

Luisa’s meatballs (from the Wednesday Chef)

1 lb lean ground pork

1 lb lean ground beef

4 slices bread, crusts removed

milk to soak the bread

4 eggs

a grating of nutmeg

chopped parsley (optional)

salt and pepper

Tear the bread into little pieces, then soak them in the milk and squeeze them out. Add the bread to the meat and eggs in a mixing bowl. Mince up the parsley and add it to the bowl. Grate a bit of nutmeg into the bowl and add salt and pepper to the mixture. Then, using your hands, mix all of this together until it's a smooth, uniform mass. Cover the bowl with a plate or some plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for a few hours. I used a 1 tsp scoop to make the meatballs, rounding them with my hands. I placed them on baking sheets and cooked each sheet for about 8 minutes, under the broiler of my oven. When they were cool, I popped them into freezer bags and into the freezer they went for future meals.

smitten

A couple of weeks ago, I was so excited I actually posted on my facebook status "so excited to be at a book signing". Deb, of Smitten Kitchen came to Vancouver and there I was, sitting (I got to the bookstore extremely early) looking through Deb's lovely book, drooling over the pictures and planning which recipes to cook. I was so lucky to have a seat and then be second in line to have my book signed as there was a huge line up. Deb was so lovely and funny and charming.

chatting with Deb as she signed my book

I told her I'd just made a version of her pot pies which she posted on her blog shortly before the book tour. I made our version with spinach and bacon in lieu of chard and pancetta and I did one big pie instead of individual ones but the pastry was divine and the stew, well, it is a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs, pile of deliciousness. It could, indeed, as Deb writes in the book notes about the recipe, stand on its own, but the pastry is so divine, why not make it as well. (I'm paraphrasing).

Spinach, bacon and white bean pot pie (adapted from smitten kitchen blog and book)
 Pastry
2 cups (250 grams) all- purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt
13 tablespoons (185 grams or 1 stick plus 5 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, diced
6 tablespoons (90 grams) sour cream or whole Greek yogurt (i.e., a strained yogurt)
1 tablespoon (15 ml) white wine vinegar
1/4 cup (60 ml) ice water
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Filling
2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
4 ounces (115 grams or 3/4 to 1 cup) diced bacon
2 small onions, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 large stalk celery, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
10 ounces of spinach, sliced
3 tablespoons (50 grams) butter
3 tablespoons (25 grams) all- purpose flour
3 cups (765 ml) low- sodium vegetable broth
2 cups white beans, cooked and drained

Make pastry: In the bowl of a food processor combine the flour and salt. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is broken up into quarter size pieces. In a small dish, whisk together the sour cream, vinegar, and water, and combine it with the butter-flour mixture. Pulse until a craggy dough forms. Dump out onto a floured counter and pull and pat it into a flattish ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill it in the fridge for 1 hour or up to 2 days.

Make filling: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium- high heat in a large, wide saucepan, and then add the bacon. Brown the bacon (about 10 minutes) then remove it with a slotted spoon, and drain it on paper towels. Add onions, carrot, celery to the pan with the bacon drippings and a few pinches of salt, and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are softened and begin to take on color, about 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute more. Add the greens and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Transfer all of the cooked vegetables to a bowl with the bacon, and set aside.

Make sauce: Wipe out the large saucepan, then melt the butter in the saucepan over medium- low heat. Add the flour, and stir with a whisk until combined. Continue cooking for 2 minutes, stirring the whole time, until it begins to take on a little color. Whisk in the broth, scraping up the bits that were stuck to the bottom. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce it to a simmer. Cook the sauce until it is thickened and gravylike, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir the white beans and reserved vegetables and bacon into the sauce.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Assemble and cook: Pour the filling into an ovenproof dish. Roll out the dough into a round large enough to cover the dish with an overhang. Whisk the egg wash and brush it lightly around the top rim of your bowl and drape the pastry over each, pressing gently to adhere it. Brush the lid with egg wash, then cut decorative vents to let the steam escape.

Bake until crust is lightly bronzed and filling is bubbling, about 40 to 45 minutes.

As I assembled the pie, I remembered my English grandmother making steak and kidney pie. She used to put an egg cup in the middle of the pie to support the pastry as it cooked. I was missing her and her trusty pie dish. The pie emerged from the oven looking delightful,

but the pastry had dropped off on one side. I guess I pressed a bit too hard to get the pastry to stick to the top of the dish!