Under a Red Roof

Peposo and Heat

June 7, 2010 in Cooking + Baking by Colleen | 2 comments

I just finished reading the book Heat by Bill Buford. It chronicles the time he spent learning everything about cooking from Mario Batali’s kitchen at Babbo to learning the art of pasta making and butchering (more than that – an appreciation for quality meat) in Italy. It is a pretty good, and not surprisingly, rather hedonistic read. These people don’t just make food, they eat it in mass quantities and wash it down with plenty of wine! Though there aren’t any actual recipes included, there are descriptions of them. The following is my best approximation of one. Five ingredients, phenomenal flavor.

You may also be pausing a moment, thinking stew? Really? In June? Well, non-Portlanders, the weather has been wet, very wet, even for us, and something that simmers in the oven all day is really not out of line but quite appropriate.

Peposo

1 1/2 pounds stew meat – mine was diced, but you could easily buy one shank and shred it at the end.

1/2 bottle Chianti

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper – or more, if you like

3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

Combine ingredients in a covered oven proof pot. Place in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 200 and continue cooking for another 10-12 hours. The final product will be melt in your mouth tender and ever so yummy.

Serve with crusty white bread, generously spread with butter, a glass of the remaining bit of wine, and the company of a good friend.

Enjoy!

Tags: Books, Cooking and Baking, Recipes

A Whole Day of Eating

May 25, 2010 in Cooking + Baking, Drinking, Eating by Colleen | 4 comments

I’ve got a slew of recipes to tantalize your taste buds today. Plus, apparently, a little alliteration. Silly me. I also have a whopper of a headache, a slight fever, an earache, and swollen tonsils, so if this wanders off into the territory of the bizarre, don’t be surprised. I am not myself.

First off, oatmeal (sorry Sarah – I think you’ll like the rest!), but, though it may look it, it is no ordinary oatmeal. No sirree, this is something special brought on by hunger, of course, a lack of bacon, an ugly banana, and a need for protein.

Ginger Banana Oatmeal

oatmeal

water

salt

powdered ginger

banana(s)

egg(s)

milk

Start making the oatmeal – add some salt and ginger, to your taste. While that is going, puree a banana (I used my hand blender in a large measuring cup), add an egg (more if you’re making it for more than two people), and some milk. Make it as thick or thin as you like. Just make sure you mix it thoroughly. Once the oatmeal is finished, add about one third of it to the banana mixture, and, again, mix thoroughly. Then add this to the original pot of oatmeal, and stir, stir, stir. If your banana was as ugly and sweet as ours was, you won’t need much sweetener, if any. This is sooo good, like a breakfast pudding, but loaded with fiber. A happy start to the day.

Now it is lunch time and spring time! Perfect for asparagus, and mushrooms, and exclamation points!

Grilled Asparagus, Mushroom, and Cheese Sandwiches

Sliced Bread

mayo

Greek yogurt

creamy horseradish

Dijon mustard

salt

pepper

bite sizes of asparagus (cooked however you like – mine was roasted with EVOO, salt, and pepper)

sliced mushrooms (sauteed in a little butter or EVOO)

Havarti Cheese, grated (I learned this from Sarah – it melts so nicely! I can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before.)

Start heating up your pan over medium heat. I use a Le Creuset that covers two burners. It is the tops! Make the spread – I mix equal parts of mayo and yogurt (this makes it light and creamy), then add little bits of the rest until it tastes just right, being careful with the mustard and horseradish, unless you like to cry while eating. Save when they are tears of joy, I am not keen on this. Construct your sandwich, heat, and eat. It tastes great with potato chips and a crisp apple. Some sparkling apple juice or wine probably wouldn’t be bad either.

Tastes Like Sunshine Salad

One lovely Friday evening, we weren’t terribly hungry, and I had a small but beautiful assortment of produce in the fridge, but no lettuce or tomato, and stale heels of bread. It’s a sunshine salad!

Tear up stale bread into bite sized pieces. Toss in olive oil (not too much). Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and crushed dried rosemary. Toast in the oven until golden brown. Allow to cool.

I roasted the orange bell pepper over the burner and put it in a brown bag to sweat. Meanwhile, I diced an avocado and sliced some radishes. Rub the skin off the bell pepper and dice. Arrange everything nicely on a plate, drizzle with vinegar (I like white balsamic), EVOO, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drink with the next recipe – we did, and it was marvelous.

We had half a bottle of red wine that had been sitting for a few days, not exactly good to drink on its own, so I made a zippy sangria-type beverage. I got out a pitcher and muddled frozen blueberries and raspberries (about 3/4 of a cup?) with a little frozen apple juice concentrate (a tablespoon?), then I added some Grand Marnier (splash!), brandy (splash!), the red wine, and a can of sparkling water. Man was it good!

Enjoy!

Tags: Cooking and Baking, Recipes

Classic Home Desserts

May 7, 2010 in Cooking + Baking, Reading, Spotlighting by Colleen | 2 comments

This, my friends is a slice of terrific banana cake. I’ve adapted it from what I think is a pretty terrific book, Classic Home Desserts, by the late Richard Sax. My number one favorite in this department, and one that I’ve had since 1994, longer than any other, of any kind, I might add. As someone who is a great purger, this is saying a lot. This book, no doubt, will be with me until it is coming apart at the seams, all 688 glorious pages. It is full of great stories and historic recipes, not only a treasure to bake from but one to read, as well. I’ve made countless recipes from it, all went off without a hitch and tasted even better (two other examples are here and here). How is that for a product endorsement? Fortunately, the book is not out of print, but the latest edition, from 2000, is, in my opinion, prohibitively expensive, at least on Amazon ($45 used – $99 new, zoiks!), so, if you’d like to give it a try, head to Powell’s (I’ve seen used copies for $25), your local library, or cross your fingers that they print another edition.

Anyway, to the recipe. I’ve adapted it from his original, of course, for it is my way, but I honestly don’t think he (or you) will mind. An additional bit, part of my love for this cake stems from the fact that it is made in a Bundt style pan. Have I ever spoken of my love for the Bundt pan? Dessert is somehow elevated when it comes out of a pan shaped like that, truly.

Banana Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks butter, softened or, if you are short on time, grate it fine with a cheese grater

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 cup ripe mashed banana (about 2)

1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sour cream or plain yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350. Generously butter a 10″ tube or Bundt pan. Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl. Set aside.

Beat the butter with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until very light. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one by one; beat in the vanilla. Put mixer on the lowest speed and add half of the flour mixture, alternating with the banana. Add the remaining flour, alternating with the sour cream or yogurt, in batches. Do not overmix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50-55 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes. Carefully unmold the cake and cool to room temperature. Eat plain, dust with powdered sugar, or frost. This is great with a caramel, vanilla, or chocolate frosting. I’ll bet it would be great with a cream cheese frosting, too. You can’t go wrong! Like the picture, it also tastes great with coffee.

Enjoy!

Tags: Books, Cooking and Baking, Reading, Recipes

Zippy Red Pepper and Tomato Soup or Sauce

May 4, 2010 in Cooking + Baking by Colleen | 1 comment

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble! Sorry, it was SO called for here.

Hi there! I’ve got another quick recipe for you, and it is quite delicious. I initially made it as a pasta sauce, but then, as I was reheating it one day, realized it would be equally good as a soup. Two for one!

Red Pepper and Tomato Sauce or Soup

1 large or 2 small red bell peppers (I’ve never used orange or yellow, but I think they’d work)

1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, peeled

1 pint jar of peeled tomatoes or a 14 oz can (whole or diced, with the juice)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (omit if you don’t like spicy)

salt, to taste

Roast the bell pepper(s) over an open flame (I do it over a stove burner) or under the broiler, until nice and black. Place in a bowl with a lid or a brown paper sack to cool. Once cool enough to handle, peel off as much of the skin as you can, then remove the seeds and stem, compost or discard. Place the garlic in the jar of a blender; let it whirl around on high until it is nicely diced. Don’t worry if there is a chunk left. Add the peeled bell pepper, the tomatoes, olive oil, red pepper flakes, and salt. Whirl until smooth. Correct the seasoning, if necessary, and place in a sauce pan and heat until hot for the soup. If you’ll be using it as a sauce, let it reduce a bit, as you’ll want it thicker, at least I do. Like I said, zippy. This makes about 24 ounces, enough for two big bowls of soup or pasta but would double nicely.

Enjoy!

Tags: Cooking and Baking, Recipes

The Pleasures of Cooking for One

April 30, 2010 in Cooking + Baking, Eating, Reading, Spotlighting by Colleen | 3 comments

Do you cook much for yourself? I don’t. When I am on my own, my efforts are pretty slapdash, grabbing this and that, and often eating while standing up in the kitchen, as I just did (I’m writing this on Wednesday afternoon), happily consuming two slices of Dave’s Killer Bread with a light smearing of unsalted butter, a giant spoonful of white bean dip (made on Sunday to last the week), a slice of Havarti cheese, and a kiwi. I guess I’ve never seen the point in making an effort when it is just me. In contrast, I receive great satisfaction in making food to share with the hubster. I like the time in the kitchen, the gathering of ingredients, the easy rythm of cooking, like the best jazz. Then there is the pleasure of sitting down together, chatting happily about whatever strikes us, and having just enough so he can take leftovers for lunch the next day. Sweet perfection.

Then the book pictured above, The Pleasures of Cooking for One, by Judith Jones, came along and got me wondering. She’d been married a long time, and when her husband died, she didn’t initially cook for herself, thinking it wasn’t worth doing. Then, with time, and some encouragement from some of her readers, she decided she would do it and found it an exciting and enjoyable challenge to adapt recipes that serve many into individual servings or those that can be morphed further into new meals over the course of days. More than that, I think it is about deciding that, as individuals, we are important and merit the preparation of a delicious meal. We matter. What we eat matters.

Though Judith and I don’t share all of the same tastes (tongue and organ meats not being among mine), we are both economical shoppers and make every attempt not to waste. The photo is a perfect example. I was on my own for dinner (the hubster was working out), and I decided I would really make something for myself rather than my usual slapdash meal (though I did double the recipe so he could have some when he arrived – I love to share). I looked in the fridge and realized it would have to be the souffle because I had neglected to go to the store that day, and we didn’t have much on hand. I had eggs, rice milk, a little bit of Appenzeller cheese, and butter lettuce. The souffle left me with two egg yolks, so I decided to gild the lily and make a hollandaise sauce. The timing was perfect, too. I made the souffle batter, put it in the oven, made the hollandaise, washed and dressed the lettuce with a simple balsamic vinaigrette, and had about one minute to spare. As I sat there on my own, with a crazy bun atop my head, wearing sweats stretched at the knees, I felt kind of special, savoring every bite, even oohing and ahhing, like I was being treated to a delicious meal. Which, I guess, was true. I treated myself, because, as they say in the commercials, I’m worth it. Aren’t we all? I’d definitely do it again. Thank you, Judith, for the inspiration and the recipes.

Tags: Cooking and Baking, Reading