Some Nights You Need Dessert

Bread pudding is a welcome canvas for leftovers. We have a freezer full of bread, eggs and milk in the fridge, a pile of apples and an unusually (for us) well stocked bar. Since the hazelnut bread isn't James' favorite for sandwiches I figured it was the perfect starting point for a custardy dessert. I removed the crusts and cut the bread into 1 inch chunks and toasted them in the oven for about 15 minutes at 350º. Meanwhile I soaked 1/2 cup of raisins in a splash of boubon. Next I melted two TB of butter in a skillet and added about a cup (well a heavy cup) of 1/2" peeled apple chunks, along with 1/4 cup of brown sugar ( we've run out of white sugar and I was determined to make this dessert with what we had on hand). I sautéed the apples until they were tender (about 15 minutes) added 1/2 tsp cinnamon and about 1/4 cup of bourbon and stirred over moderate heat until the bourbon made a sticky syrup (less than a minute). I poured 4 cups of milk (well a mixture of milk and cream -- that is, after all, that's what we had in the house) into a large bowl and added in the toasted bread cubes, the plumped raisins, and the caramel apples. In a separate bowl I beat 3 eggs with 1/2 cup of brown sugar (here I would have preferred white), 1 TB of vanilla, 1/2 tsp of allspice and another pinch of cinnamon. I stirred the eggs into the bread crumb mixture and poured my bread pudding in the making into a baking dish (7" x 11" I think). I drizzled the top with about 3 TB of melted butter and pre-baked the pudding for 50 minutes at 300º, then sprinkled the top with a drizzle of brown sugar and during dinner let dessert heat up in the oven (and crisp on top from the sugar sprinkle) for another 25 minutes or so at 350º. The result was soft and custardy and definitely alcoholic. With a dollop of creme fraiche it was a perfect winter dessert.

Sunday Pork Supper With Shari

Mark Bittman is leaving the New York Times, well at least he's leaving the wednesday food section and ending his column (one of my favorites), The Minimalist. The man I've often heard called America's best home cook (does his leaving mean the title is up for grabs?) in a short weekly story taught a vast readership to not be afraid, try cooking at home, or experiment with a new ingredient cooked in a simple straight forward way. He had endless recipes for achievable dinners. In fact -- his incrediblly useful cookbook is called "How To Cook Everything," and it seemed he actually knew. I may not follow his recipes exactly but he always provided a starting point to great dinners. As part of his farewell Bittman published a list of his 25 favorite columns. There staring me in the face was his super easy, crusty brown, crisp skinned pernil, the Puerto Rican slow cooked pork specialty, I couldn't wait to pull that out of my oven. Only one problem. Although I dreamed of crisp skin shattering under my knife's touch, searching several LA markets (gourmet and grocery) not only could I not find a shoulder roast with the skin on I could barely find one with a bone (that took 3 stores). I should have dusted off my very rusty Spanish and headed into the nearest Latino market -- just didn't think of it in time. Anyway with a shoulder roast in hand I mixed up Bittman's not quite traditional seasoning paste of 1 onion, 4 cloves garlic, 2 TB fresh oregano, S&P, 1 TB cumin, 1 tsp mild chili powder, and olive oil. I mixed in 1 TB of white vinegar and rubbed the paste all over the roast (I had made some slits with my knife to help the seasoning seep into the meat). Pork isn't as fatty as it used to be and without the fat cap and skin I feared my roast would dry out in the oven so I popped it in the crock pot and let it slowly simmer all day. Meanwhile I cooked up some long grain rice with chicken broth and a dab of butter, a pot of greens from our garden braised in olive oil and garlic, and homegrown lima beans simmered in water, butter and pepper until tender and finished with a bath of cream and salt. As I laid everything out on the platter Shari and I mixed up an avocado salad with sliced red onion, doused in olive oil and salt. Although Bittman doesn't suggest it, I mixed up a mojo sauce of sorts to pour on the meat and rice -- garlic oil, orange juice, vinegar, cumin, S&P. Once again Bittman was a great starting off point. I'm a little embarrassed to say I'll miss him. He's not hip or local or self-righteously seasonal, but a friendly purveyor of basic recipes. We probably need more like him.

Oyster Pizza At Home

James and I love the oyster pizza at Osteria Stellina in PT Reyes Station. And really, what's not to love? Cream braised leeks, crispy dough, salty oysters -- it's a winning combo I have never seen anywhere else. And today I found the recipe online -- it was once published in Metropolitan Home alongside a cheery article describing the little storefront restaurant as a "culinary beacon . . . as bright as the Pt Reyes lighthouse." A culinary beacon in a virtual promised land of fresh vegetables, bakeries, organic dairy farms, artisanal cheeses, pasture raised meats, and mind-blowingly fresh seafood. Food geek Valhalla. Today, just as we are having another of those, "Why don't we live there moments" I thought I'd bring a little West Marin home. I actually followed the recipe as written, except I thought I had too much of the braised leeks to use on one pie (not that they wouldn't be delicious on pasta or toast or cedar chips or cardboard if it came to it -- these are really good), so I won't try to describe it -- just link to to the master, Chef Christian Caiazzo's recipe. I'm still working on my version.

Raclette Sandwiches

We are working our way through the delicious mound of party cheese. Tonight's dinner shaved a couple slices of raclette off the total. I took thin slices of hazelnut bread, salty Jamon Serrano, butter, a good sized slice of raclette cheese and a thin smear of piquant mustard. I buttered the outside of the bread and popped them in my Christmas present grill pan. The moist cheese melts easily, the hearty bread crisps up just right. I served the sandwiches with homemade zucchini bread and butter pickles from Zuni Cafe's recipe. Cheese and pickles a great Swiss combo.

Outrageous Mac n' Cheese

Driving home form the airport (James and I grabbed a few days away in Mendocino County which turned into a virtual crab eating orgy) I mentally scanned the contents of our refrigerator thinking what I could make for James that was at once homey and special. We still have a load of delicious party leftovers and I hit on the surprising and tasty Beecher's peppered cheddar -- what a great mac n' cheese that could make. I boiled the pasta water and quickly whipped up a cheese sauce (4 Tb melted butter, and 4 tb of flour cooked whisked together over medium heat -- cooked long enough to remove the flour's raw taste, thinned with milk -- about 2 1/2 cups and a splash of heavy cream.) To the thickened sauce I added grated Marco Polo cheddar and for a mellow undertone about 1/2 cup of the buffalo milk quadrello. I stirred in about 2 tsp of finely chopped fresh sage, a pinch of nutmeg, a pinch of cayenne and a sprinkle of salt and mixed the sauce with the very al dente pasta (undercooked) popped it in a baking dish and sprinkled the top with more grated cheese mixed with crunchy bread crumbs and a couple slivers of butter. The casserole baked for about 20 minutes until browned and bubbly and crunchy on top. Delicious.

Chunky Celery Soup

We made Bloody Mary's on Sunday and I forgot to put out the celery sticks so now I have a fridge full of celery. Soup. Time for soup. I chopped up one red onion, one yellow onion, 3 carrots, and about 10 stalks of celery and added them to a soup pot with a good dollop of olive oil. I let the veggies cook until the onion was just translucent and added in 3 chopped cloves of garlic, a large pinch of chili peppers, S&P, and a good splash of white wine. The wine cooked down until it was almost evaporated and then I added in about 6 cups of chicken broth, a drained can of pinto beans, and some leftover steamed fingerling potatoes. I brought the soup up to a simmer and let it cook for about 10 minutes until the veggies were tender but not mushy. I added in about a 1 1/2 cups of cooked wild rice for the last couple minutes (just to heat through).

Meanwhile I made a quick pesto ( a flavored oil really) with celery leaves, parsley, a bit of fresh sage, hazelnuts, pecorino cheese, and olive oil. Just before serving I laid a dollop of pesto of top of the hot soup for extra flavor.

"Mini" Raclette

Raclette, the dish, like it's cousin fondue, is basically delicious melted cheese (usually plain or even flavored Raclette although Morbier and Appenzeller while not traditional work well too) served with roasted potatoes, cornichons and pickled onions. Crusty bread and slices of cured meats like ham, salami and especially traditional Swiss Bundnerfleisch (the Swiss version of Italian Bresaola -- air dried, cured beef) generally round out a raclette party.

Since we served raclette for our guests I had all of the ingredients in the fridge, but instead of pulling out the raclette melter (we have an electric one although in picturesque Swiss chalets it's reportedly made by leaning a half wheel of cheese near the fireplace) I popped a pile of steamed potatoes in an au gratin dish, added bits of ham, and topped with thick slices of raclette cheese. After a few minute under the broiler I sprinkled on something I have just recently discovered . . . Raclette spice. Apparently a Swiss favorite, the McCormick product is a combination of paprika, peppers, nutmeg, caraway seeds, garlic powder, coriander seed and cumin. Adds a nice hint of spice to the rich cheese.