Recipes & Cooking: April 2005 Archives

Yesterday during one of August's naps I roasted some mushrooms with olive oil, salt, pepper, onions and thyme. Today I warmed them up and ate them over slices of premade polenta that I broiled then topped with fresh mozzarella. I was afraid it'd be bland which was crazy; every shrunken little mushroom quarter had an intense flavor that paired really well with the bland polenta and creamy cheese. With just a little prep work the day before it was so quick, too.

So often I just end up eating an almond butter sandwich or some yogurt for lunch because I'm so consumed by August's neediness (he's 5 months so it's understandable). It makes me sad, though, when I'm not more conscious about what I'm eating, more thoughtful. It takes a little planning to make it work when you have to steal time from the baby to cook. A sandwich with an interesting flavor combo, a tube of polenta or other convenience food, some make-ahead ingredients, it can work.

Yesterday during one of August's naps I roasted some mushrooms with olive oil, salt, pepper, onions and thyme. Today I warmed them up and ate them over slices of premade polenta that I broiled then topped with fresh mozzarella. I was afraid it'd be bland which was crazy; every shrunken little mushroom quarter had an intense flavor that paired really well with the bland polenta and creamy cheese. With just a little prep work the day before it was so quick, too.

So often I just end up eating an almond butter sandwich or some yogurt for lunch because I'm so consumed by August's neediness (he's 5 months so it's understandable). It makes me sad, though, when I'm not more conscious about what I'm eating, more thoughtful. It takes a little planning to make it work when you have to steal time from the baby to cook. A sandwich with an interesting flavor combo, a tube of polenta or other convenience food, some make-ahead ingredients, it can work.

I pulled the rest of that pork shoulder out of the freezer this week and made two dinners out of it for the weekend. I threw half of it in the slow cooker for shredded pork tacos again, then made braised pork with orange and fennel with the rest. Actually, not so different from the pork with prunes I made first with this pork shoulder, just different flavors. I think I'd like it to have a more pronounced orange flavor and would add more orange peel next time, or substitute some orange juice for the liquid.

Browned a pound of pork cubes, then removed that to a bowl and sauteed a small chopped onion in the pan. Added a couple 2-inch strips orange peel and a piece of peeled ginger, then a couple tablespoons soy sauce and rice wine vinegar, some fennel seeds, a cinnamon stick and a cup of chicken stock. Braised in 350 degree oven for 1 hour, then add a sliced fennel bulb and braised an additional 30 minutes.

I'm finding that I eat a sandwich just about every day, especially since I'm home at lunch and need something that's easy to make. I try to make them interesting, though. A little chive in my egg salad, some smoked salmon and cream cheese. Kale with balsamic vinegar, which I think did not agree with the baby's stomach. Yesterday I had an open-face sandwich, recipe from Epicurious.

I used a parbaked whole-wheat roll from Fresh Direct, baked it up and sliced it in half. Drizzled the halves with olive oil then toasted them under the broiler. Then I spread them with apple butter and Dijon mustard and layered ham and Cheddar cheese on top. Broiled again. This is so obvious, obvious, OBVIOUS, but I burned the edges of the roll and the top of the cheese because I didn't keep an eye on the sandwich. After two minutes the cheese was started to melt but not brown, but a minute later the taste sensation was cinders. After scraping off the burnt, it was a pretty good sandwich. The sweetness of the apple butter may seem like overkill with the ham, but it contributes more than just sweetness, an apple flavor, that makes the whole thing more interesting. I think without the mustard it would be too sweet.

I'm finding that I eat a sandwich just about every day, especially since I'm home at lunch and need something that's easy to make. I try to make them interesting, though. A little chive in my egg salad, some smoked salmon and cream cheese. Kale with balsamic vinegar, which I think did not agree with the baby's stomach. Yesterday I had an open-face sandwich, recipe from Epicurious.

I used a parbaked whole-wheat roll from Fresh Direct, baked it up and sliced it in half. Drizzled the halves with olive oil then toasted them under the broiler. Then I spread them with apple butter and Dijon mustard and layered ham and Cheddar cheese on top. Broiled again. This is so obvious, obvious, OBVIOUS, but I burned the edges of the roll and the top of the cheese because I didn't keep an eye on the sandwich. After two minutes the cheese was started to melt but not brown, but a minute later the taste sensation was cinders. After scraping off the burnt, it was a pretty good sandwich. The sweetness of the apple butter may seem like overkill with the ham, but it contributes more than just sweetness, an apple flavor, that makes the whole thing more interesting. I think without the mustard it would be too sweet.

I had lots of kale left over after the chorizo soup, so I found a recipe in The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen that's basically braised kale over bruschetta. Saute chopped kale in olive oil with a garlic clove for 10 minutes, until it starts to wilt. Then add some water, salt, pepper and pepper flakes and steam covered for another half an hour (the liquid was gone from mine at this point). Drizzle the kale with balsamic vinegar (which reminded me of the spinach with vinegar we used to have when I was a kid, only better), then toast some bread, drizzle it with olive oil and scrape a garlic clove on it, put the kale on top, then top that with shavings of pecorino romano.

I had lots of kale left over after the chorizo soup, so I found a recipe in The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen that's basically braised kale over bruschetta. Saute chopped kale in olive oil with a garlic clove for 10 minutes, until it starts to wilt. Then add some water, salt, pepper and pepper flakes and steam covered for another half an hour (the liquid was gone from mine at this point). Drizzle the kale with balsamic vinegar (which reminded me of the spinach with vinegar we used to have when I was a kid, only better), then toast some bread, drizzle it with olive oil and scrape a garlic clove on it, put the kale on top, then top that with shavings of pecorino romano.

After about three days the crust on the raisin and pecan bread I ordered from Zingerman's was getting pretty tough to bite through. (Though I tried valiantly, I failed to consume the whole thing. Todd wasn't much help since the loaf was loaded with raisins and he's not a big fan.) Zingerman's also sells chips made from their leftover bread, so I thought I'd take a cue from them and bake up some of my own.

It was easy: I sliced the leftover bread pretty thin, then baked the slices flat on a baking sheet in a 300 degree oven until they were crispy (maybe 15 or 20 minutes?). Their a good snack on their own or dipped in some cream cheese or almond butter. The bread's not sweet, but there are so many raisins and pecans that the overall impression is a sweet snack.

After about three days the crust on the raisin and pecan bread I ordered from Zingerman's was getting pretty tough to bite through. (Though I tried valiantly, I failed to consume the whole thing. Todd wasn't much help since the loaf was loaded with raisins and he's not a big fan.) Zingerman's also sells chips made from their leftover bread, so I thought I'd take a cue from them and bake up some of my own.

It was easy: I sliced the leftover bread pretty thin, then baked the slices flat on a baking sheet in a 300 degree oven until they were crispy (maybe 15 or 20 minutes?). Their a good snack on their own or dipped in some cream cheese or almond butter. The bread's not sweet, but there are so many raisins and pecans that the overall impression is a sweet snack.

This recipe is a find for someone like me, who is home all day but doesn't have a lot of time to devote hands-on to stirring polenta. It's from Paula Wolfert's The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen. I always make my polenta with regular cornmeal but this recipe comes out so silky I'd like to try it with a courser meal, maybe even something marketed as polenta. It was a great bland base for the extra-spicy sausage and broccolini I served over the top, although it might have been too bland. There's a point at which Woflert adds more salt that I forgot to add.

You just combine 1 cup cornmeal with 4 cups water, a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of olive oil or melted butter in a casserole dish, then bake for 1 hour 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven, then stir (add more salt to taste) and bake for 10 minutes longer. Simple!

We had our first supper club since August was born so I chose something easy to make in case the babe needed my attention. Good thing, too, because Todd ended up not coming at all, which left the childcare to David, the other husband who rarely brings something to make. He was completely willing and a great babysitter even though I gather he hasn't had much experience with babies. The host's husband, Eric, also spent some time with August on his knee while I chopped. It's good for these guys.

Anyway, I made rau thom com ga, mint rice with chicken. I had wanted to make a sticky-rice dish, but this is more of a fluffy-rice dish. I wasn't going to make my own stock so I poached a whole chicken breast in a panful of water with some peppercorns, star anise and ginger (not sure the flavor translated). Then I added Penzey's chicken soup base to 2 3/4 cups of the strained poaching liquid and cooked 2 cups jasmine rice in it (put stock and rice in a pot, bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes, then let sit another 10). Once the rice was done I mixed in a finely diced small red onion, a cup of julienned mint leaves and the chicken, shredded. Served with nuoc cham, which is a mixture of 5 tablespoons sugar, 3 tablespoons water, 1/3 cup fish sauce, 1/2 cup lemon or lime juice, 1 minced garlic clove and 1 minced Thai chile (this is the recipe in my cookbook; on Saturday Lisa made the nuoc cham for her dish, bun, and I just used some of hers).

We also had Lisa's bun with pork (a salad of greens, basil, mint, cucumber, sprouts, noodles and peanuts), Julie's canh ca nau dua (fish and pineapple soup, which she used a fish head for), and a very bizarre coconut and banana dessert with tapioca (which I'm not a big fan of anyway) and sweet potato noodles.

Julie and Lisa both said they had fun shopping for the more unusual ingredients (the guy at the fish shop almost seemed excited when Julie asked for the fish head), but all the ingredients for my recipe were available, as Rachael Ray would say, right in the regular grocery store. August and I'll have to do more fun shopping for the next supper club, which I think we decided would be recipes with alcohol.

Todd had some of my rau thom com ga warmed up when I got home and said he liked it, even without the dipping sauce. It was better, with more flavor, than I thought it would be, but I liked it drizzled with the sauce. The fragrant jasmine rice really helped boost the flavor.