Cheesezilla

Several years ago my friend Shari and I dabbled in home cheesemaking. There were tomes, farmstead cheddars, chèvres, mozzarellas and our last effort, a home version of manchego. We lovingly tucked away our efforts in a wine cooler James bought me to store cheese and turned and aged and then ate our prizes with family and friends. Except for one. I'm not sure how it happened but the lonely little manchego kept escaping dinner. I thought about it many times but before I knew it this little wheel was nearly five years old and had been carried North in a cooler when we moved.
Shari is a neighbor once again and to start 2014 off with a bang we broke into our long stored cheese. Quite aged and dry the wheel crumbled under the knife like an aged parmesan with a similar trademark salty sourness. I can't say anyone is lining up to taste our vintage cheese at this point more science exhibit that culinary delight but it wasn't bad, no one died from the taste and this simple success may invite more cheese making adventures. Long live cheesezilla.

An Appetizer from Argentina

Argentine cooks are well known for their skill and dedication to cooking on the grill. "Asados" or Argentine bar-b-ques are family celebrations and a national obsession. On every block in every neighborhood a restaurant dedicated to simply prepared, fantastically delicious grilled meats beacons to passer-bys and neighbors debate the quality meats at favorite haunts.
The menu at each "parilla" is pretty standard: grilled organ meats and blood sausages, several cuts of beef the country is deservedly famous for, and an unexpected -- at least to me, appetizer -- provoletta, a thick slab of grilled provolone cheese quickly marinated in olive oil, oregano and a hint of chili flakes. Delicious cripsy, gooey cheese eaten shamelessly with knife and fork.
When I first tasted this delicious dish I immediately wanted to make it for James. I've tried a wheel here and again when we've had guests, but tonight an aged wheel of provolone called from the fridge. I made James an Argentine appetizer plate for dinner -- grilled sausage and cheese.
He called it a "heartstopper."

Grilled Cheese

I can't think of one ingredient -- except for maybe bacon -- that tops off every dish and is always a crowd pleaser. No matter how old we get inside we are all kids eating grilled cheese after school. Pure comfort. Pure joy.

A Salad James Won't Eat

James won't eat beets. He won't even try them. But I had some in the fridge so I made this lovely salad -- something James won't eat. Thinking back to that long gone pledge to cook every recipe in Jim Lahey's My Bread cookbook. I roasted my beets and followed Lahey's "recipe" for marinated beets which is basically red onions and sliced beets left to marinate in red wine vinegar. Hardly a taxing recipe. I left my beets to marinate and then in my own version of Lahey's marinated beet sandwich I tossed the marinated veggies with olive oil, arugula, and -- because I didn't have goat cheese in the house -- Nicasio Valley Cheese Company's Foggy Morning, a tangy but delicate fresh white cheese.

Quick Dinner

The Giants are world champions. We had one more ballpark dinner, sort of a cross culture quesadilla. Gruyere cheese, prosciutto and thinly sliced red onion all melted together in a skillet glazed with a shimmer of olive oil. Non traditional deliciousness.

Going Visiting

I'm not cooking tonight. We are going visiting. Our new friend Karin has come into town ready to make pasta and we are ready to eat. I brought this roasted tomato caprese salad ( a page from Nancy Silverton's Mozza playbook).

A Cheese I Couldn't Resist

Strolling through the tiny farmers market in Anacortes, WA I happened upon Gothberg Farms goat cheese from Bow. Now I always find cheese had to resist but with a name like "Woman of La Mancha" I was drawn right in. I'm such a cheese sucker. My choice turned out to be a sharp aged manchego style cheese bathed in smoked paprika and olive oil. I bought a small wedge and greedily walked back to my car

Turned out to have a delightful sharp flavor perfect on a cheese board with maybe honey and almonds and a tall glass of sherry.. 

Everett, Washington Farmers Market

I love a farmer's market, even when I have no place to cook. So I trekked down the 5 to Everett, Washington, feeling a little silly for driving so far for a market. But I was rewarded with a beautiful water front location and a dizzying array of local cheeses, fresh cherries, seafood and positively hypnotic, riotous, alluringly fresh flowers. 

A great market and the makings of a great picnic lunch. Fresh, chewy whole wheat miche from local favorite bread farm, unusual young Ladysmith cheese flavored with peppery arugula from Samish Bay Cheese -- a chewy almost springy queso fresco style cheese, and sweet, bracingly fresh Puget Sound prawns.

I Had To Use Up The Milk

We are not milk drinkers. Last week we had a guest for dinner and I asked James to pick up the smallest container of milk he could -- I needed a cup and a half for our dessert cobbler. James brought home a half gallon and I knew there'd be at least a couple milk based recipes in his dinner future.  I've whipped up cornbread and cookies and polenta so far.
I can't bare to waste ingredients. You'd think I was a child of the depression they way I take an MK Fisher-like delight in making leftovers new and palatable (pork roast empanadas anyone?) or creating dinners from fridge odds and ends. Today I had to face the milk. Looking around for other ingredients to add to my "don't let food spoil" dinner I spied a bunch of swiss chard (from our garden, even more precious than usual), the mustard greens I didn't use in the other night's sausage pan fry, and odds and ends of several kinds of cheese. Bingo! Macaroni and cheese with greens and mushrooms (while digging around I found a box close to it's last legs). Okay, it's not exactly Sunday church supper mac n' cheese and certainly far from the dreaded blue box but this slightly upscale baked pasta is just what my fridge extras ordered.
I started a pot of water to boil and added in the pasta (no elbows but these fusilli will soak up the cheese sauce nicely). Two minutes before the pasta was cooked (I let it cook for about 2/3 of the stated cooking time so it would finish cooking in the oven in the rich sauce) I added in the chopped greens and drained the whole pot in a colander. Meanwhile in a saucepan I started a white sauce by melting butter (4TB) and then whisking in a couple TB (4 or so) of flour. I just read a NY Times article about cooks in Provence making béchamel sauce with olive oil so I gave it a splash of olive oil too. I know you are supposed to use warm milk and add it little by little. I suppose that's fine when you have one pot going and all day to wash dishes. I added in the milk -- all at once -- right out of the fridge -- about 3 1/2 - 4 cups. I didn't bother to measure. I let the sauce simmer and thicken while I sautéed the mushrooms, grated the cheese and mixed the pasta and vegetables together. I tossed the cheese into the sauce along with S&P and a dash of nutmeg and poured the whole pot over the waiting pasta mixture. Once tossed together, I ladled the pasta mixture into buttered baking dishes (one for tonight and one for the freezer) and topped our mac n' cheese with breadcrumbs, grated cheese, and a drizzle of melted butter.
After 30 minutes at 375º James' dinner was gooey, cheesy and warm with crispy delicious edges -- and we were out of milk. Mission accomplished.

Baked Stuffed Potatoes

Delicious oven-baked potatoes layered with chopped ham, broccoli and milky, creamy Teleme cheese.

Spring Spaghetti

Finally. Relief from the endless stream of winter vegetables. We love broccoli, cauliflower and kale but come this time of year I am anxious to see a glimpse of spring in the market -- tender fresh peas and finally crisp green asparagus.
I started with chopped onion sautéing in a good quantity of olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Next I tossed in the cut asparagus and about 1/2 tsp of crushed red chiles. After another 5 minutes the asparagus was barely tender and I added in the drained pasta, a splash of pasta cooking water,  a couple tablespoons of fresh goat cheese, and fresh thyme. After a few turns in the pan the cheese melted into a creamy, delicate sauce.
A simple dish to highlight the flavor of spring.

Leftovers

Yesterday's fajita leftovers become tonight's quesadillas. Cheese and onion with a "dip" of drunken beans.

Fregola

I'm on another quest to clean out the freezer and make dinners using up the ingredients I've already stored. That way I can store new and maybe more exciting foodstuffs for future meals. So, instead of stopping for a couple pounds of clams for dinner I dug deep and pulled out a package of wild boar sausage.

Since I was sort of dreaming of clams with fregola, I decided to stick with the small toasted pasta and basically substitute browned sausage for the clams. I started by sautéing chopped red onion in olive oil, along with a couple cloves of garlic and some diced hot peppers from our garden. After a couple minutes I tossed in the sliced sausage links and let them brown in the hot oil. I added in two chopped tomatoes and let them cook down for about 3 minutes before adding in 1 cup each of wine, water, chicken broth, and fregola. I brought the liquid up to a boil, covered the pan and let the pasta simmer for about 25 minutes until very tender.

Since the sausage was a bit more French/Alsatian perhaps than Italian (there is something a bit sweet in the mixture, maybe cranberry or currant or apple), I decided to top James' dinner with a dollop of tangy, washed rind Delice de Bourgogne cheese and a sprinkle of fresh parsley.

Strange Snack Dinner

Today we had a shockingly small potato harvest. Small tubers and small quantity. Our worst ever. But they are still delicious and so with no idea of what I was making I started cutting the spuds up to roast and then tried to figure out what to served with them. It was already pretty late by the time we got to dinner. I just decided to make our meal a couple of snacks. Roasted potatoes, fresh mozzarella with chopped salami and arugula pesto (our house special sauce), parmesan toasts.

Full carb dinner.

Dinner With Konstantine

An impromptu belated birthday dinner for our friend Konstantine.

Things to eat with toast.

Small plates, perfect for dinnertime conversation.

We started off with a caprese salad using the last of the arugula pesto and quickly pan fried currant tomatoes. I drizzled tomato flavored olive oil (left from sautéing the tomatoes) over the fresh buffalo milk cheese.
Arancini, a classic Sicilian treat. Saffron scented creamy rice (or leftover risotto) is wrapped around a tiny dollop of meat ragú. The assembled rice balls are dunked in egg batter, rolled in breadcrumbs and fried to golden brown. Equally delicious warm or room temperature, the Sicilian version is said to have gotten it's name because the golden color brings to mind the oranges trees of the island's hills. "Arancini" means little oranges. Artichokes are still at the farmers market. I braised these, trimmed but still whole, with fennel seeds, lemon juice and zest, carrot, onion and coriander. Then pan fried the cut, cleaned artichokes for crisp browned edges. Boiled down with lemon juice and olive oil the braising liquid made a quick sauce, perfect for sopping up with lightly garlic tinged crostini.

Asparagus Spaghetti

Spaghetti is always good for dinner in a hurry.

While the pasta boiled I cooked some asparagus in salted boiling water and set it aside. Then I added the vegetable, cut into pieces, to the drained pasta along with a glug of olive oil, a last hunk of Delice de Bourgogne -- a tangy washed rind cheese, some chopped prosciutto, a splash of olive oil, a knob of butter, black pepper, crushed red chiles, a sprinkle of parmesan and a dollop of ricotta. I gave it all a good stir which helped the heat of the pasta melt the cheese and butter into a light, uncooked, easy summer sauce.

Arugula Toasties

We loved the other night's arugula pesto so much we are finding excuses to use it. Today I topped thick slices of wheat bread with the tasty pesto and slivers of buffalo mozzarella for a quick broiled open-faced sandwich. Delicious.

Impromptu Raclette

I dug up a hill of potatoes today. I needed to make some room in the garden. Bean plants had to go in. So let's call these very new potatoes -- a small harvest of small Russian Banana Fingerlings.

To show off our harvest I decided to go simple. I boiled the potatoes until tender, laid them in a baking pan with a bit of butter and olive oil and chopped garlic sausage (french style -- a salami really) and topped them with melty, creamy, luscious, Morbier cheese.

After a couple minutes under the broiler James had a mini-raclette all his own.

Broccoli Telefono

"Honey, if I put on some water can we have spaghetti?" James called from the kitchen.

I had just walked in from work and started to type up some notes from the day -- forgetting, for a moment all about dinner.

The water was already boiling when I popped up so I decided on a quick broccoli sauce (I had a bag of florets in the fridge). I dropped the spaghetti into the salted, boiling water and when it had four minutes left to cook added in the broccoli. I saved about a cup of the pasta cooking liquid and put the drained spaghetti (with the broccoli) back into the cooking pot along with a large handful of shredded pecorino cheese, lots of cracked black pepper, about 1/2 cup of the cooking water and a good sized knob of butter. I gave everything a good stir combining the broccoli (and breaking it up a bit) and the cheese into a light sauce. Somehow I felt a little extra cheese might be right and I added some cubed, fresh mozzarella to the pot and let it melt and form the long chewy strands the Italians call "al telfono."

Easter 2011

I love holidays. mostly for the chance for theme menus. So, even if it is just the two of us, I make at least a little bit of a fuss. For tonight's dinner I mail-ordered a ham from our favorite bacon producer, Neuske's. I figured their ham had to be top-notch and it was. I added a little holiday topping by glazing the applewood smoked ham with a bourbon, molasses and brown sugar glaze from Bruce Aidells recipe. Most recipes I look at with at least some degree of suspicion. But, when it comes to meat, I am willing to follow Aidells almost blindly and this glaze did not disappoint. I boiled down a combo of apple juice (1/2 cup) and bourbon (1/4 cup) until reduced by half. Then I added that liquid to a paste of 1 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup molasses, 3 TB dried mustard, and 1 cup toasted and finely chopped pecans. I spread that paste on top of the already armed through ham and baed for 30 minutes at 425º. The sweet coating gave the smokey ham a boost that had James asking for seconds.
Spoonbread, basically a corn meal pudding is one of my favorite side-dishes, light lunches, or breakfast leftovers. I bring one cup each of milk, corn meal and water to a boil, stirring, and cook the meal for about two minutes until the mixture starts to pull away from the side of the pan and drop in one TB of butter, S&P. Next I mix in one cup of milk beaten with two eggs and stir everything together, off the heat. The batter is poured into a heavily buttered baking dish, dotted with another TB of butter and baked at 400º or about 30 minutes until it is puffed and still jiggles softly. Cornbread dressed up in its Sunday best.
For vegetable and salad in one I roasted some asparagus tossed with olive oil, S&P, and lemon zest for about ten minutes at 450º. I dressed a combination of greens -- arugula and frise -- with a lemon juice, olive oil, dijon mustard, and red wine vinegar vinaigrette and topped the salad with creamy, luxurious, perfectly ripe Delice de Bourgogne. The acid note in the triple cream, washed rind cheese (from the creme fraiche added in the cheese-making process) is the perfect foil for fresh spring vegetables and lemony vinaigrette.

Dessert is still waiting -- its is playoff season after all, a man can only wait so long. So, dear friends, you'll see that strawberry shortcake another day this week.

Happy Easter one and all.