Cheesy Grits with Rainbow Chard

Ever since picking up grits the other week, I have really been enjoying them. Last night brought a great cheesy version with some simple sautéed kale. It was based on this recipe from seriouseats.com. This dish would easily work with any other green, such as spinach, kale or arugula.




Cheesy Grits with Rainbow Chard
1 bunch rainbow chard
1/2 onion, sliced
2 - 3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 Tbs vinegar, I used apple cider
1 1/2 cups water or stock
1 Tbs butter or oil
1/2 cup grits (not quick)
1/2 cup milk
1 - 4 oz cheese to taste, I used Parmigiana
salt and pepper to taste


Wash and dry the leaves and cut out any think stems. Then roll and cut into strips. 







In a medium pot add the water or stock and butter or oil. Heat on high to bowl and add the grits while stirring. 







Cook over medium heat about 15 - 20 minutes. Then add the milk. Cook for another 10 minutes until creamy. Season with salt and pepper.





Meanwhile, sauté onion in a little oil for a minute, then add garlic and a touch of salt.  





After a couple minutes, the onion will soften add the chard.





Cook over high heat about 5 minutes until the chard is cooked through. Then add the vinegar and season with salt and pepper.





Right before serving, add most of the cheese to the grits and season again with salt and pepper to taste. 


To serve, place a generous portion of the grits in a bowl, top with the kale and a sprinkle of the extra cheese.

Butternut Squash with Herbed Breadcrumbs

I was looking for something to do with all the butternut squash I seem to be collecting. This looked like a great choice and it was. I made a few changes, but the basics are the same.

• Butternut Squash with Herbed Breadcrumbs
• 1 Tsp butter
• 2 Tsp olive oil
• 4 cups thinly sliced onions (about 1 pound)
• 2 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 3/4 cup stock or water

• 2 cups panko or other breadcrumbs
• 2 cups  grated cheese, I used a mix of cheddar gruyere and Parmigiana 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat oven to 375. In an oven proof pan, melt butter and oil. Add onions and sauté once medium about 5 minutes until soft. 


        


After peeling the squash, slice into thin slices.  


    
  


Add the squash to the pan and cook another 5 minutes. 


    


Add the sugar, salt, pepper and thyme and cook another few minutes until the squash begins to brown.




     


Add the stock or water and cover with foil and place in oven. Cook for about 40 minutes.




     

While squash is cooking, mix the topping in a small bowl.


     
    
Top the squash with the bread crumb mixture. At this point it will still be somewhat wet.


              




Raise temperature to 425 and cook another 20 to 30 minutes until the top is lightly browned and the liquid as evaporated. 




  

Cauliflower cassarole

I wasn't always a fan of cauliflower. Maybe it was the mushy texture or the generally bland flavor, but as time has gone on I've warmed to it. What better way to enjoy it than covered in cheese and topped with a crispy bread crumb topping. This recipe is basically the same as for Mac & Cheese, but with the cauliflower instead of pasta.

Cauliflower Casserole 

1 large head cauliflower, cut into large pieces

1 -2 cloves garlic, sliced

2 cups milk 

2 Tbs cornstearch

salt and pepper to taste

3 - 6 oz cheese (I used cheddar and gruyere)

about 1/4 cup bread crumbs

Preheat over to 400.

Warm the 1 3/4 cups milk with the garlic.

Meanwhile boil the cauliflower in a large pot of boil water for about 5 minutes, until just tender. Drain and set aside.

Mix the cornstarch with the reserved milk.

Slowly drizzle into the warm milk and cook until the sauce thickens. Turn off heat and add about half the cheese. Stirring until the cheese melts.

Add the cauliflower and season generously with salt and pepper.

Pour into a baking dish and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and cover with the bread crumbs.

Bake in 400 deg oven for about 30 minutes, until the top is nicely browned. Let sit for a couple minutes before serving.

I'm Back...with more brussel sprouts

I never really ate brussel sprouts. There wasn't a bad experience to point to, they just weren't something we ate. Well, until recently. 

Here is another simple take, first roasting them then finishing in the pan and topping with some Parmigiano.

Brussel Sprouts with Parmigiano

Brussel sprouts 

oil 

salt an pepper

Parmigiano Reggiano

Trim the brussel sprouts of any brown leaves. Toss with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in 450 oven for about 20 minutes until they begin to soften.

Heat a cast iron pan, and coat with oil. Add the par-cooked sprouts and cook over high heat for about 5 minutes.

Turn once and sprinkle generously with cheese. Turn again and remove from heat after cheese melts, but before it burns. Season with salt and pepper.

Nectarines

My sister-in-law and her girlfriend came over for dinner last night, and has been the case they give me a "food challenge" they give me an ingredient and I create a dinner around it.

Last night was nectarines. Sticking with my 3 ingredient recipes I came up with this refreshing summer soup

Cucumber * Nectarines * Feta
Puree the cucumber with nectarines. Then strain. Season with salt and pepper. Chill the liquid and use the solids to make granita. Freeze in a shallow pan, mixing every half hour to create a slushy mix.

Top the chilled soup with the granita and crumbled feta.

The best summer salad

Need I say more:

Tomatoes * Mozzarella * Basil
Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, season with salt and pepper.

Beans and Feta

Our kids love bean, so I figured this would be a hit... not so much for them, but was great for us.

Garbanzo * Feta * Cucumber
Mix beans, cheese and diced cucumber. Season with salt and pepper and top with extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar.




This salad could take many more flavors; try adding dill or cilantro or basil, add fresh lemon instead of vinegar.

Three is the magic number

Building recipes with three ingredients is becoming more and more fun. It allows for simple combinations that are easy to put together but make for great dishes.

Toast * Roaster Garlic * Goat Cheese
Roast garlic
Toast bread.
Spread garlic on bread, top with cheese and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper




Tomato * Mozzarella * Arugula
Slice tomatoes (from Lyons Farm)
Slice cheese
Arrange on plate and top with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic.
Dress greens (from Nichols) with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic, season with salt and pepper. Place on top of tomatoes and cheese.



Pimientos de Padrón * Oil * Salt
Heat oil until hot.
Fry pepper for about 3 - 4 minutes. Pat dry on a towel and season with salt




Pimientos de Padrón are a common tapa Spain, but are quite rare here. The fun part is that some (maybe one in five or so) are spicy, so you never know.

Corn and Beets

Remember that corn from yesterday, well I had a little left over...perfect to top some roasted beets.

Beets * Corn * Feta
Roast beets, let cool and cut into wedges.
Grill corn and cut from cob. Toss with extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar (about 3 to 1), season with salt and pepper.
Crumble the feta on top of the beets and top with the corn and dressing.

Broccoli and more broccoli

I keep coming home from the market with buckets of broccoli. It is just so wonderful this time of year.

This was a simple dish that the kids loved, what can go wrong with a little cheese and my son's favorite dressing, mustard.

Broccoli * Parmigiano * Mustard

Toss the broccoli with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 deg oven for about 10 minutes, until it begins to brown. Top with cheese and cook another 5 minutes, until fully cooked and the cheese crispy.

The mustard I added as a dressing. Use about 1 part Dijon mustard to 1 part white wine vinegar to 2 - 3 parts Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle over the cooked broccoli or can be used as a dipping sauce.

Goat Cheese Squash Blossoms

This past weekend I picked up some awesome looking squash blossoms from Nichol's Farm. They make such a great presentation with the great orange leaves and the pocket to fill with any number of fillings. I went with a simple herbed goat cheese and a quick fry in a tempura batter.





Goat Cheese Stuffed Squash Blossoms
about a dozen squash blossoms
3 -4 oz goat or other soft cheese
herbs, I used thyme
1 -2 garlic cloves, diced
salt and pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Garlic Oil

about one cup flour
1 TSB corn starch
about one cup beer

oil for fying

Mix the cheese with the herbs, garlic and oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.



Using a pastry bag with a large tip, or a plastic bag with the corner cut, carefully fill the blossoms with the cheese mixture about 2/3 full.



Twist the ends to seal and place in the refrigerator, until ready to serve. The cold cheese will be less likely to melt all over before the outside is cooked.



When ready to fry, heat oil in a large pot to about 350 deg. In a large bowl mix the flour and corn starch and season with salt and pepper. Mix in the beer until the batter is about the consistency of thin pancake batter. Dunk the blossoms in the batter then straight in the hot oil.



Cook a few minutes a side, until nicely browned.



Pat dry on a paper towel, then sprinkle with salt.

Buffalo Tomato Soup

We have been into Buffalo stuff lately. This simple soup was a great play off the combo of spicy, blue cheese and celery.

I made my typical tomato soup, but added a generous amount of Frank's Red Hot Sauce. Then topped it with these crackers, but without the nuts. And garnished with a sprig of celery.

Sweet Potato Souffle

Making souffles is surprisingly easy. Though there are a few steps none are that difficult, and even if yours does not rise mile high it will surely be yummy. I picked up this recipe from Seriouseats.com

Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Souffle
3 tbs butter
3 tbs flour
3/4 cup milk
4 egg yolks
about 1 cup mashed sweet potato
1 - 2 oz goat cheese
salt and pepper
7 egg whites
pinch cream of tartar


Warm the butter and flour over medium heat, mixing to form a roux. Cook for a minute or two until smooth and warmed.



Addd the milk and cook a few minutes longer to thicken.



Remove from heat and mix in the egg yolks. Make sure to stir thoroughly so that you do not scramble the eggs but mix them into the sauce.



Add the potato and cheese and season with salt and pepper.



Mix to combine. Set aside and cool to at least room temperature. At this point this can be placed in the refrigerator and used later to finish the souffles.



Coat small ramekins with butter or oil and bread crumbs. Whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until stiff peaks. Then fold this into the potato mixture. Fill the ramekins. Bake in 400 deg oven about 20 to 25 minutes.



Serve warm straight from the oven.

Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Toasts

The other night we went to Abigail's with our friends Adam and Renee, there we had an appetizer with mushrooms and truffles. I was inspired by this.

I had recently read on SeriousEats.com about a new method to caramelize onions, using two slight changes. One is to caramelize a small amount of sugar, this jumps starts the process, the other is to add baking soda (a base) which changes the pH and allows you to cook hotter and breaks the onions down quicker. The end result was surely tasty and likely took a bit less time, was somewhat mushy. So for an application like this dish, it works great, but for something where you wanted pieces of onion, it would not work.

Mushroom with Goat Cheese Caramelized Onion Toasts
half a large onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp sugar
1/8 baking soda
pinch salt to taste
oil and/or butter

1 - 2 cloves garlic, sliced
a couple cups thick sliced mushrooms
2 - 3 ounces goat cheese
3 - 6 slices bread
small bunch arugula
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
salt and pepper to taste

To make the onions, start by heating a stainless pan over medium heat, add the sugar and cook until melted and slightly golden.





Add the onions, and turn to coat. Then add the baking soda and salt, and butter and/or oil. Cook over medium heat turning occasionally. If the onions stick add a touch of water and incorporate any of the browned pieces.



Cook until the onions are broken down and have a nice caramel color. Cool completely before adding to the cheese.



To prepare the mushroom, add a touch of oil to a pan and add the garlic and a touch of salt. Cook for a minute to soften then add the mushrooms. Cook over medium heat, until cooked though and soft.



Mix the cheese with the onions. Season with salt and pepper. Toast the bread, then spread with the cheese.



To finish, top with the mushrooms, then with the arugula. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.