Whacking Brussels Sprouts

In San Diego last week I had a fabulous lunch of the world's freshest swordfish accompanied by Flash-Fried Brussels Sprouts.  They were so delicious I vowed to make them as soon as I got home.

Further research revealed that they had most likely been deep-fried, which is something I do not do.  It's a mess, and it makes my missing gall bladder uneasy.  So I decided to fry them in about a quarter inch of canola oil, which worked out fine.  Heat the oil really, really hot and let them get good and brown, even a little crispy around the edges.  Mine took about seven minutes.

It looked like the restaurant ones had been halved and flattened, so I whacked mine with a rubber mallet.  It was fun and provided a nice release.  I think it make them cook faster.  I drained them on paper towels and seasoned them with salt, pepper, and a little ground cumin.

Advice About Vegetables

Here is some of Dad's beautiful pak choy. I cooked the first smaller heads whole, but these were a little larger so I cut them into slices, sauteed them in a little oil until seared, stir-fried in some garlic and minced ginger, and dressed them with this sauce from Jack Bishop. Searing the pak choy really adds to its character and flavor. Pour in this sauce at the end and let it boil up for a few seconds.

1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

And now to the matter of zucchini. It's really important to cut it into small pieces! I'm convinced that people who don't think they like zucchini are really just averse to large, wet chunks of it. I usually cut it in quarters lengthwise, then into small slices. In the dish above it is sauteed with garlic, then cherry tomatoes and black olives are added near the end. I believe I also added oregano, salt, and pepper.

Small Salads

When I first started making meals forty years ago, "salad" was something with lettuce, or possibly cabbage. And definitely dressing on top. (We'll leave aside Midwestern offerings with jello and/or marshmallows.)

I am grateful that Mediterranean, Mexican, and European influences have led me to the small salad: something ranging from pico de gallo to fresh relish to marinated vegetables, just a cup or two of something cool and interesting to make a contrast to the other dishes--cucumbers in yogurt; sliced tomatoes with fresh herbs; cherry tomatoes with black olives and some sliced onion.

Tonight's very pedestrian menu of salmon cakes, oven fries, and lima beans required such a salad. This one had Persian cucumbers, black olives, cherry tomatoes, a green onion, a little yellow bell pepper, a red jalapeno, and some wine vinegar and olive oil. And a little chopped fresh basil.

Still recovering from yesterday's bland lunch, I put wasabi paste in the tartar sauce. I liked it.

Vegetable-Herb Soup

Especially with the oven broken, this October is definitely soup season.

I made sweet potato-peanut stew over couscous earlier in the week.

Another night, I stewed some chicken legs with New Mexican red chiles (soaked in water then pureed), tomatoes, beer, cinnamon, cumin, and nutmeg; we ate that with homemade flour tortillas.

And recently I made a simple vegetable soup from leeks, potatoes, carrots, garlic, white beans, and a small bit of bacon. Fresh rosemary and thyme and bay leaves made it smell big and herby. And because we had some leftover pesto, I put a small mound of that on the soup to stir in, pistou-style.

The soup was actually a little better the next day, minus the pesto.

I want my oven back. But for tonight we have seeded sourdough bread from Heather's Artisan Bakery, and I will make another soup to go with it. Something containing collard greens, I think.

Roasted Vegetables with Rosemary

I roasted some vegetables last week to go with grilled pork chops, and they were very good. I tossed sweet onions, potatoes, and red and orange peppers with olive oil, salt, and rosemary, then roasted them at 425 degrees until they got nice and brown. Nothing fancy -- just right.

Tricolor Frittata

You know, I've made a lot of decent food in the last week, and I have some pretty pictures and longer posts knocking around, but our frittata dinner tonight was so simple and right that I'm having a hard time thinking about other food.

Sometimes frittata is perfect. It's substantial without being heavy or bulky; it's vegetable- and protein-laden; it's room temperature and creamy and mild and great with wine. And it's therapeutic, like a relief from major meals.

I used almost all the vegetables we had left, and tomorrow I will go to the farmers market and grocery store. So it worked out on that count, too.

Pot Luck Vegetables

Eva, here are a couple of vegetable recipes that can be served at room temperature. I would be ecstatic to find dishes like these at a pot luck lunch. (Disclosure: this is Swiss chard in the picture, not spinach).

Carrots with Lemon Mustard Dressing

1 pound carrots, peeled and julienned

Cook the carrots in boiling salted water until just tender. Drain and rinse with cold water.

2 lemons, juiced

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons coarse mustard

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

Mix lemon juice, sugar, and mustards; whisk in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss with carrots.

Fancy Spinach and Artichokes

1 jar marinated artichoke hearts (drain and reserve liquid)

2 large bunches spinach, cleaned, lightly cooked, and well drained (or 2 packages frozen, ditto)

Spray a Pyrex pie plate or shallow casserole with cooking spray. Arrange artichoke hearts in bottom and spread spinach on top.

2 eggs

4 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces sour cream
Reserved artichoke liquid, or milk
1 teaspoon dill weed
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix egg, cream cheese, sour cream, milk, dill weed, salt, and pepper. Add a little milk if necessary to make mixture spreadable. Spread over spinach in casserole.

Parmesan cheese to cover

Top with Parmesan. Cover and bake at 350º for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 10 more minutes.

Supper for Friends

I made a nice cozy supper for three last night:

Minestrone

Homemade Whole Wheat Bread
***

Pan-Seared Tuna with Herbs

Salad of Baby Greens with Feta Cheese

***

Little Bowls of Fresh Raspberries

Easy Almond Tart

Minestrone

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup sliced onion

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

2 cups diced potatoes

2 cups diced zucchini

1 cup sliced green beans

2 cups shredded cabbage

Heat olive oil in large soup kettle over medium-high heat. Sauté onion for three to five minutes, or until slightly browned. Add carrots and brown in the same way, then celery, potatoes, zucchini, green beans, and cabbage, browning and stirring each time a vegetable is added.

6 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable broth

1 one-pound can cut tomatoes

1- 1/2 cups white beans, cooked or canned

Add broth, tomatoes, and beans. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for about three hours or until thick (or simmer in crock-pot all day on high).

Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon Parmesan Cheese.

Pan-Seared Tuna with Herbs

1/2 cup sliced red onion

3 cloves garlic, sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat the oil and gently brown the garlic and red onion. Turn the heat to medium-high and add

12 ounces albacore, red tuna, or swordfish, cut in 1/2-inch by 2-inch slices

(this is one recipe where frozen fish works pretty well. Thaw just before cooking and pat dry with paper towels if necessary)

1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (basil, parsley, oregano, etc.-- a mixture is best)

Salt and pepper

Sear the fish quickly on both sides, sprinkling with herbs, salt, and pepper. Remove the fish to a plate and keep warm. Add to the empty pan:

1 or 2 cups chopped fresh or canned tomatoes

1/2 cups pitted Kalamata olives

1 tablespoon capers

1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes

Boil up to deglaze pan. After a couple of minutes, add the fish back in and stir for a minute or two. Don't overcook. Stir in more fresh herbs and serve at once. This is also good cold the next day for lunch. I speak from experience.

Brussels Sprouts

We've had many beautiful green and leafy things lately, with the fall garden in production and fall vegetables in the markets. This Brussels sprouts recipe modified from one by Jack Bishop is so delicious:

Braised Brussels Sprouts with Mustard Cream Sauce

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup minced onion

Brown the onion in the butter for about 3 minutes. Add:

1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved or quartered

1/4 cup evaporated milk or cream

1/4 cup chicken stock

Pinch of salt

Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender. Add a little liquid if necessary to keep from sticking. Before serving stir in

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

With these we had barbecued Cornish game hens (first marinated

Portuguese-style in vinegar, garlic, and chile pepper) and roasted new potatoes.

Tortilla Española

Or frittata. Or omelet. Or kuku. It's pretty much the same thing around here: the best way to use up random vegetables and have a light dinner. I make Spanish omelets pretty regularly, often when we are recovering from something meat-laden the night before.

Most vegetables work well. Here are some of my favorite combinations:

- Swiss chard (leaves and stems) and potatoes
- young eggplant and basil
- spinach and assorted fresh herbs
- rosemary, garlic, potatoes, and onions

Really, though, anything goes. Zucchini is great. Asparagus is great. I almost always use an onion. I would probably stay away from the winter squashes and the lighter lettuces, but heck, I could be persuaded.

I use a nonstick 12" skillet for this, because it sticks horribly to non-nonstick cookware, especially if it contains potatoes. The skillet needs to have an oven-safe handle, because it spends a minute or two under the broiler.

First, cut up the vegetables. I cut onions into rings here because it looks pretty and adds texture. Most other big vegetables I cut into roughly 1" cubes. Asparagus is in 2" lengths. Leafy things are chopped. Garlic is minced.

Saute the vegetables in olive oil in the proper order and at the proper temperatures. I'm sorry I can't be more help than that, but it's going to matter whether you use potatoes (cook them first using medium-high heat so they form a skin, then remove from the pan and cook the onions) or garlic (add it last so it doesn't burn) or zucchini (saute for just a minute or two, and don't crowd the pan or it'll get watery).

Preheat the broiler.

Now, here's the key, I'm convinced: salt the vegetables to taste before you add the eggs.

Then turn the stove heat down to medium low and add:

- 6 to 8 eggs, beaten with 1 teaspoon salt
- any herbs you may be using

Stir to distribute the eggs and arrange the vegetables evenly. Top with:

- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, if you like, or some other cheese (Swiss? As with the vegetables, anything goes.)
- grated black pepper

Cook for 3 to 6 minutes on the stove, until the middle is mostly set when you jiggle the pan. Then put it under the broiler for a minute or two until slightly brown.

I prefer my tortilla española at room temperature.

Concord Grapes for Dessert

Have you eaten Concord grapes? They're everything kids don't like about grapes--tough skins, big bitter seeds. The flavor is so intense and wonderful that one grape takes a long time to eat and consider. Also, they are one thing that hasn't been hybridized to extend the growing season. They are only available in the late summer, as they should be.

We were Italian vegetarians last night:

Mushrooms with Tomatoes and Mint

Fennel au Gratin

Lentils with Wine, Onions, and Tomatoes

Homemade bread

The fennel was sliced and parboiled for five minutes before tossing it with bread crumbs and grated Asiago cheese, then baked for 15 minutes.

Recovery

We had commercial take-out pizza Saturday night, and it made me rededicate myself to cooking fresh, unsalty things. It was horrible. Rubbery cheese, doughy crust, and salt—help, I’m obsessing about this pizza! I’m going to have nightmares!

Now, on to the antidotes. Tonight we had a little fillet of fresh silver salmon from Alaska, caught by our neighbor on a fishing expedition. I prepped it with lemon juice, salt, and pepper, then spread on a mixture of sambal and brown sugar before broiling. With it we had a thoroughly baked sweet potato—soft, unctuous—and this wonderful green bean salad from the Jack Bishop cookbook.

Green Bean and Tomato Salad

Lightly cook enough fresh young green beans for 2 to 4 people. Drain and cool.

Then mix:

2 ripe tomatoes, cut in ½ inch dice
1 green onion, thinly sliced
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Black olives
Minced parsley
Chopped walnuts

Add green beans and top with
½ cup crumbled feta cheese

The night immediately following the pizza incident we had the vegetable curry pictured above, with a cucumber/green onion/rice vinegar salad and brown rice, followed by champagne grapes. We’re feeling better now.

Roasting Green Beans

When we visited David and Susan in Texas, they served a perfect dinner for weary travelers: grilled salmon, pink beans, cole slaw, and roasted green beans. I actually woke up in the middle of the night and wished that I had more of those green beans.

Susan says she roasts them at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. I did the same, with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, but mine were not especially wonderful. I bet that's because she grew the beans herself and they had just been picked the same day.

Return to Vegetables

On the kitchen counter waiting for me when I returned from my DC trip was this tableau:
As you can see, we have a variety of eggplant types, some tomatoes, some okra, some yellow squash, and one dark and enormous zucchini hidden under it all. Last night Lawson roasted eggplant, onions, and zucchini, then made pesto and cooked some rigatoni and tossed it all together. It was delicious.

My House Smells Bad

I tried a Cook’s Illustrated method for roasted chicken breasts tonight. It involved loosening the skin and massaging herb-and-garlic butter into the flesh underneath, then brushing the skin with oil, and roasting on a rack at 450 degrees for half an hour. Two thoughts: the house stinks to high heaven from the dripping chicken fat at high temperature; and for chrissake!!--the only reason to eat chicken breasts in the first place is because they’re LOW in FAT. The flesh was succulent, I’ll admit, but for a protein fix I’d rather eat a handful of almonds, or my favorite bowlful of canned tuna/cottage cheese/curry powder/green onions.

With the chicken I served vegetable lo mein starring Dad’s snow peas, pak choy, and green onions. That was lovely.

Greek Madness

Grandma gave me a Greek cookbook for Christmas and tonight was our second or third all-Greek meal. I have used a quart of olive oil this week.

The menu:

--Pork Stew with Olives, Anchovies, Cilantro, and Red Wine
--Gigantes (Large White Beans--I used large dried limas)
--Salad of Collard Greens (cooked and cooled) dressed with Lemon Juice and topped with Fried Garlic and Chopped Hard-Boiled Egg

Everything was so flavorful, but the collards were something special.

I have made only one New Year's resolution: to eat more vegetables. I want to explore all the ones I haven't tried, and eat more of my favorites, and maybe eat a little less meat and starch in the process.

Above is a picture of Dad's arugula and collard crop.

The 100% Cauliflower Solution

Slice it and roast it! I read this recipe in the Thanksgiving issue of Bon Appetit magazine and, of course, modified it.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut a small head of cauliflower in half and then slice it thinly—less than ½ inch. Place it in a rimmed baking sheet which has been brushed with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon coarse salt.

Roast for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together:

2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon mustard (Dijon or brown)
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Drizzle butter mixture over cauliflower and roast about 10 minutes longer. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I confess that I ate about a third of this as soon as it emerged from the oven. I liked it later at room temperature, but Dad said he would have preferred it warm. It was dynamite, though, with the brown edges and lemony flavor. Maybe we could set up a Roasted Cauliflower booth at the state fair, and compete with corn dogs.

Instead of a beautiful picture of my cauliflower dish, I offer a picture of our kitchen after dinner.