inspiration: the populist's cauliflower + pear soup with help from Food52

Ladies night boils down to this: great food, wonderful conversation, a few drinks and good friends. It's absolutely essential to my mental well-being and I'm quite certain that it makes me a better mother. I return home feeling refreshed and renewed and I should probably do it more often...

Back in November my friend Jo Ellen and I went to The Populist, one of Denver's best restaurants according to pretty much everyone. Now The Populist isn't cheap and ladies night isn't always this high-brow. Most of the time I opt for hole-in-the-wall type places that serve hummus platters, tacos, pho or Ethiopian food. But this get-together was special since my friend gave birth to her third child and this was our first time out together since mid-summer. We also really wanted to try the restaurant and the post-baby celebration gave us good cover. So on a chilly November night we went out on the town, got to the restaurant and sat down at our table shortly after we finished our first round at the bar (and yes, the cocktails were excellent). 

Now here's the thing about the meal: I'm still thinking about it. It was stellar. Exceptional! We ordered a bowl of cauliflower + pear soup, the butternut squash salad, curried chick peas and for my entree I chose the huitlacoche ("the Mexican truffle") agnolotti. Now I'm more of what you'd call a home cook and I thought the agnolotti was above my chef grade. But I'm really comfortable in the soup realm and so I though I'd take a stab at the cauliflower + pear. 

I scoured the internet for a recipe and found this one from the Food52 Community. It got great reviews and sounded like it would work really well. It was simple, straightforward and could be made using a cutting board and one pot (a.k.a. not much to clean). I loved the flavor of the pear and the sherry made it pop. Was it similar to The Populist's version? Not really. It was missing the dehydrated pear, which really adds a lot of texture, and it wasn't quite as smooth. But it was very good and the boys ate it by the bowlful. And in my book that's a success story. Next time I might serve it alongside some grilled cheese sandwiches. 

In case you were wondering how we finished off our ladies night...we concluded the meal with an excellent slice of lemon ice box cake that was lip-smacking good. I can't wait to go back to The Populist again and sit in their outdoor patio (that's covered with vines) once winter passes...

In the meantime, keep warm and enjoy the soup.

Cauliflower and Pear Soup (Adapted only slightly from Food52)

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of butter (you can make this vegan by omitting the butter and adding another tablespoon of olive oil)

1 large leek, white and light green parts, chopped

1 small shallot, chopped

1 head cauliflower, green leaves and trunk removed, florets chopped

2 small yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 medium sized pears, peeled, cored, and chopped

5 leaves fresh sage (or about 2 teaspoons chopped)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

5 cups homemade vegetable stock or good quality store-bought

kosher salt + freshly ground black pepper

2 to 3 teaspoons sherry vinegar, or to taste (champagne vinegar also works)

2 tablespoons finely chopped chives, for serving (optional)

Preparation
Heat the oil and butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the leek and the shallot, and cook until they are soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Add the cauliflower, potato, pear, sage, and thyme, stirring to thoroughly coat them with the oil and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until lightly browned, stirring frequently, another 8 to 10 minutes. You're aiming for a little caramelization around the edges for depth of flavor.

Add 5 cups of vegetable stock. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, lower the heat to just maintain the simmer, and cook until all of the ingredients are very tender, about 30 minutes.

With an immersion blender or regular blender, puree the soup until it’s smooth. If you're using a blender, you may need to do this step in batches, then return the soup to the pot. You're looking for a smooth, velvety texture, so take your time to blend thoroughly. Thin with more chicken stock, if needed, until you reach desired consistency.

Season to taste with vinegar and salt and pepper (this is key!). Serve the soup in heated bowls, garnished with chives...or with large pieces of french baguette (I picked up mine from Babette's at The Source). 

Gardens and Galettes (Butternut Squash with Caramelized Onion)

My original intention was to put together a little holiday gift post. But then I thought, "Good lord, do you know how many well-edited gift guides have already been posted?" Followed by "Do you know how unbelievably late in the season you are trying to put this together?" And "Don't you think that one of the best gifts you can bring your holiday host(ess)is the gift of food?"

So there you have it. A combination of intimidation, tardiness and rethinking caused me ditch my holiday gift guide idea. But had I included some cookbooks that you simply had to have, I would have included The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. 

I decided to make Deb's Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette which is on p. 99 of the book, though a scaled down version of it was previously posted on the Smitten Kitchen site about 5 years ago. The book recipe makes a much larger galette than I needed, so I decided to make a smaller version, which would still amply feed my family. It also allowed me to cut down on the incredible amount of butter needed for the larger galette crust (read: 16 tablespoons). Though I will admit, I firmly believe the holidays are about great friends, good wine, terrific conversation and lots of delicious food-- some of which contains a good deal of butter. 

This galette, which is like a free-form rustic tart, takes a bit of time to make. So when the boys went down for their nap, I put on some Chet Baker (I'm really feeling him these days), made myself a little cocktail and got to work.

The recipe I posted is a hybrid of the book recipe, the blog recipe and this post from Seven Spoons. I had enough Fontina in my fridge to grate 1 cup, but if you don't have enough on hand good substitutes for Italian Fontina are Gruyere and Emmentaler (maybe even Asiago). If you are thinking about using Fontinella, don't (I almost made that mistake). This American-made, semi-hard, pasteurized cow's milk cheese is not related to Fontina at all. They are completely different, so don't use it here. I also opted for thyme instead of sage, though both would work in this galette. 
The outcome was one down-right delicious meal. I have only one little caveat: don't rush the process. You really need to keep the dough in the fridge for at least an hour. Otherwise you'll end up with a bit of a mess once you start rolling it out.
Also, if you don't have a pastry blender (they are around $10), you can use a food processor to mix the dough. But be sure to use it on its lowest setting, and keep an eye on the texture-- you don't want to over-work the dough.
There's a bit of waiting time with this recipe but be patient, it's worth it. And if you bring it to a New Years Eve party, I'm pretty sure it'll be a hit!

Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette (Adapted slightly from this Smitten Kitchen post, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook and Seven Spoons)

Yields: 1 9-inch galette, Serves 6
You can click on the Seven Spoons link above for the larger pie recipe.

For the pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup ice water

For the filling:
1 small butternut squash (about 1 1/4 pound)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons of butter
1 large Vidalia or Spanish (sweet) onion, halved and thinly sliced in half-moons
Pinch of sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
3/4 -1 cup grated Fontina cheese (about 2 1/2- 2 3/4 ounces). You could also use Gruyere.
3/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon of water, for optional glaze. (It gives the galette more of a croissant-looking finish.)

Preparation
To make pastry: In a bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the stick of butter and, using a pastry blender, break up the bits of butter until the texture is like cornmeal, with the biggest pieces the size of pebbles. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, lemon juice and water, and pour this over the butter-flour mixture. Stir with a spoon or a rubber spatula until a dough forms, kneading it once or twice on the counter if needed to bring it together. Do not over work the dough. Pat the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic and chill it in the refrigerator for 1 hour or up to two days.

Prepare squash: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Peel squash, then halve and scoop out seeds. Cut into a 1/2-inch dice. Toss pieces with olive oil and a half-teaspoon of the salt, some freshly ground black pepper and roast on a baking sheet for 30 minutes or until pieces are tender, turning it midway if your oven bakes unevenly. Set aside to cool slightly. Leave the oven on.

Caramelize onions: While squash is roasting, melt butter in a heavy skillet and cook onion over low heat with the remaining half-teaspoon of salt and pinch of sugar, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Stir in cayenne. 
Mix squash, caramelized onions, cheese and herbs together in a bowl.

Assemble galette: On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread squash, onions, cheese and herb mixture over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Fold the border over the squash, onion and cheese mixture, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open. (Optional: Brush the outside of the crust with the egg-yolk wash.)

Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 minutes, then slide the galette onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges and serve hot, warm or at room temperature. 

Now I've been consuming a lot of great food since Thanksgiving. We've had some wonderful meals, terrific desserts and a Fondue party, where there wasn't an ounce of restraint in sight. So we decided to take the kids on a hike in an effort to kind of "work it off" a little. I thought our last hike of the year was going to be this one near Boulder, but the weather turned out to be mild for another few days, so more hiking was in store. There really is nothing like fresh air, right?

The Garden of the Gods is a place we've been only once, so it was nice to be back. The rock formations are gorgeous and the views (you can see Pikes Peak, a 14,000 foot mountain) are spectacular. The hike itself is on a paved path so it's not exactly what I would call a rigorous trail, but it is a really nice place to take a walk. I hear there are more strenuous hikes in the area, which I hope to check out in the spring.

After our hike, we got in the car and started making our way back to Denver. We toyed with the idea of stopping by the 'Focus on the Family' headquarters and taking a family photo that was purposefully out of focus (something that is pretty much in-line with our sense of humor). And we thought that shot would make a pretty great image for our holiday card next year (if we can ever manage to get them out in time). But the boys were tired and so was I, so we just kept driving...

...and when we got home, I started thumbing through all those great cookbooks I've either purchased or been gifted over the past 12 months. And I started to menu plan...

I can't wait to share more recipes next year, but for now I'm signing off for the rest of 2012. 

Have a wonderful holiday season and a very Happy New Year! Thank you for all the comments, the suggestions and the support. I has meant a lot to me.

See you in 2013!

Be well,

xoxo,

-Batya

Serve with a Side of Dreidel: Non-Traditional Latkes (Leek and Cardamom Fritters)

I love holidays that are celebrated with lights and food. Around this time of year there are plenty of holidays that fit that bill. There's St. Lucia Day in Sweden, Kwanzaa, Christmas and Chaunkah (or Hanukkah), to name a few. I'm focusing on Chanukah here.

The holiday commemorates the triumph of Judah the Maccabee over the King Antiochus in the 2nd Century BCE. Hooray for the revolutionaries! There was also a little miracle that happened in the Temple. A small amount of oil miraculously burned for 8 days (yes, that's one long lasting flame). To commemorate this surprising event, latkes are served because the oil in which they are fried is symbolic of the aforementioned miracle. Latkes, in modern tradition, are made of grated potatoes, but historically they were made with whatever local ingredients were around-- vegetables, legumes, etc. I decided to try some non-traditional latkes this year, opting for Leek and Cardamom Fritters. I figure that since they are pan fried in olive oil, they are still very much in the spirit of Chanukah. They are shallow little pancakes that contain flour and egg- which is similar to the traditional potato latke. I think these work well for the holiday.

The recipe is a Mark Bittman adaptation of a Yotam Ottolenghi dish. It was printed in The New York Times Magazine a few weeks ago. Special thanks to my friend Richard who sent me the link and to Melissa who sent me the hard copy of this recipe.

Happy holidays! 

Leek-and-Cardamom Fritters (Courtesy of Mark Bittman, New York Times Magazine, adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi)
Yield: 4 servings (about 8 large fritters)
Ingredients
About 2/3 cup olive oil
3 leeks, thickly sliced
5 shallots, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 fresh red chili (like Thai), seeded and sliced
1 cup fresh parsley (leaves and fine stems), finely chopped
2/3 cup fresh cilantro (leaves and fine stems), finely chopped
2 to 3 ounces manouri cheese, broken into large chunks (or drained ricotta cheese or young goat cheese)
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg white
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 whole egg
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Lemon wedges for serving.
Directions
1. Heat the oven to 200. Put 1⁄3 cup of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it’s hot, add the leeks and shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the cumin, coriander, cardamom and cinnamon and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to a large bowl and add the chili, parsley, cilantro, manouri and salt. Allow to cool, then stir gently.
2. Beat the egg white until soft peaks form, and fold it into the onions. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, whole egg, milk and butter to form a smooth batter. Gently fold it into the onion mixture.
3. Put 2 tablespoons of the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it’s hot, ladle four spoonfuls (about half of the batter) into the pan to make four large fritters. Fry them until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels, then transfer to a platter in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more of the oil as needed. Serve warm or at room temperature, with lemon wedges.

ladle out some love: old fashioned cream of mushroom soup

Around this time of year I go nuts for soups and I was feeling something with mushroom in it. This recipe for Old Fashioned Cream of Mushroom Soup comes from Anna Thomas's 'Love Soup' - a 2010 James Beard Foundation Cookbook winner. It's the first recipe I've made from Thomas's book and I'm so glad I started with it. (I only have 159 more to go!)  

Now don't let the 'cream' part scare you or have you running to the treadmill- there are only 3 tablespoons in the whole pot.  The soup has  great texture, awesome flavor and some really nice heat, thanks to the paprika. I followed the recipe as written, but added a healthy dose of thyme to the mushrooms while they were sautéing. That's just because I love thyme, but follow your preference here. 

I picked up some bread from the Denver Bread Company, ladled myself a big bowl of soup and presto, and dinner was served.  This is a great winter dish.

Old Fashioned Cream of Mushroom Soup

(Courtesy of Anna Thomas, Love Soup)

Yield: 6 servings


Ingredients:
1 1/4 pounds portobello, cremini, or brown button mushrooms


2 medium yellow onions


4 cloves garlic


2 stalks celery


3 tablespoons olive oil


1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste


1 tablespoon unsalted butter


Freshly ground black pepper


Fresh or dried thyme


2-3 tablespoons dry sherry or dry Marsala


6-7 cups any basic vegetable broth or 5 cups canned vegetable broth diluted with 2 cups water


2 1/2 tablespoons Arborio rice


1 teaspoon sweet paprika


3 tablespoons half-and-half or light cream


1/3 cup chopped fresh dill or flat-leaf parsley


Sour cream or crème fraiche for garnish (optional)



Method:


Clean and coarsely chop the mushrooms. Chop the onions; you should have about 3 cups. Mince the garlic and chop the celery to get about 3/4 cup.



In a nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil, add the chopped onions and a pinch of salt, and cook over gentle heat, stirring now and then, until the onions are soft and golden, about 20 minutes.



Meanwhile, in a second skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil with the butter and sauté the garlic in it over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper and thyme to taste. Raise the heat to high and sauté the mushrooms, stirring often, until they give up their liquid, sizzle, and begin to turn darker brown, 7 or 8 minutes. Add a splash of sherry or Marsala and stir as it cooks away.



While the mushrooms and onions are sautéing, put the broth, rice, and celery into a soup pot and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. (Remember, if you are using canned broth you should dilute it, about 2 parts broth to 1 part water, or it will be too salty.) When the mushrooms and onions are ready, add them to the pot along with the paprika and keep simmering, covered, for another 15 minutes.

Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the half-and-half and the fresh dill or parsley. Taste, and correct the seasoning with a pinch more salt if needed.

You can serve the soup as it is-- but another way to prepare the soup (and the way I made it) is to purée the soup to a semi-rough stage.  Add half the fresh dill or parsley to the soup with the half-and-half, then purée it with an immersion blender, using brief pulses, or a regular blender working in batches, until it is somewhere between smooth and chunky. Then sprinkle the remaining herbs on top of the soup and serve it.
If you like, drop a spoonful of sour cream or crème fraiche on each serving.

Pumpkin Cheesecake, Baked Potatoes and a post-Thanksgiving review

Weep. Weep. Sniffle. Sniffle. I thought I was going to be able to prep, cook and post my holiday recipes as I was making them. But that just didn't happen. I was lucky to get everything into the oven!  It's possible that I over-extended myself (you know, since there's a toddler and infant in tow), but I'm happy to report that I was able to make everything I set out to make.* I also tried new recipes.  That caused some trepidation; it's much more comforting to present dishes that you've made a million times because you can vouch for their deliciousness.  But I really wanted to emerge from my comfort zone and try a new dessert and a new side dish.  

So, I started cooking the night before Thanksgiving after the kids went to sleep. I decided to make a pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap and hazelnut crust. Hello! I'd seen it in Saveur magazine in a feature on vegetarian Thanksgivings (!).  The cake took a while to make, but it was worth it.  It's decadent and rich (and definitely not for the lactose intolerant).  It felt much more holiday appropriate than the standard Upstate Cheesecake I typically make.  Going with the pumpkin version was the right thing to do. 

Thanksgiving Day was warm with temperatures hovering around 70 degrees here in Denver.  Crazy, right? We went over to our friend's new home (in historic Washington Park) to celebrate.  We were really happy to be included because our families are back in New York (having their get-together which includes 'Turkey Parts'- but that's a story for another time).  Our hosts were taking care of the bird.

Since I don't eat turkey and I wasn't sure how well a giant Tofurkey (with gravy on the side!) would go over with the crowd, I settled on Heidi Swanson's Wild Rice Casserole.  It's easy to make and it's a real crowd pleaser.  I also adapted a Giada De Laurentiis recipe for Baked Potatoes with Bread Crumbs and Parmesan Crust.  I liked the potatoes and would definitely make them again.  (Note: you must add a lot of salt to the dish or else it will be bland and flat).  Of course since this is the holiday season, a few tablespoons of cream seemed like an appropriate addition too!

Our friends made some great food: a wonderful-tart cranberry dish, a very yummy spinach casserole, stuffing (vegetarian and from the bird) and a pumpkin pie.  We all had a great time and Otis loved playing with his friends.  Otis also went nuts over the electric Thomas the Train track set that was in the house...which he's been talking about ever since...

Hope you all had a great holiday! 

* Well, almost everything made it.  I did suffer two altitude-related causalities: curried deviled eggs never boiled right and the caramel in my tart got a little scorched (still very edible) because the boiling point here is something I'm still getting used too.  That said, I am getting the hang of it! 

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap and Hazelnut Crust 

(Courtesy of Linda Monastra, Saveur Magazine: True Harvest) 

Serves 12-14
Ingredients for the Crust: 
1¼ cups (about 8 oz.) finely ground gingersnap cookie crumbs
¾ cup finely ground hazelnuts
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp. packed light brown sugar
For the topping: 
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 16-oz. container sour cream
For the filling:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground allspice
¼ tsp. ground ginger
3 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
½ cup heavy cream
⅓ cup maple syrup
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 15-oz. can pumpkin puree

Instructions

1. Make the crust: Heat oven to 325°. Wrap the outside of a 9" springform pan with foil and set aside. Combine gingersnap crumbs, hazelnuts, butter, and brown sugar in a food processor, and process until evenly combined. Transfer to pan and press evenly into bottom and halfway up side; bake until set, about 10 minutes. Let cool and set aside.
2. Make the topping: Whisk together sugar, vanilla, and sour cream in a medium bowl until smooth; set aside.
3. Make the filling: Set a kettle of water to boil. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until evenly incorporated. Add cream, syrup, vanilla, and pumpkin, and mix until smooth. Pour filling over crust and place springform pan into a large roasting pan; pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to come halfway up side of spring-form pan. Bake until filling jiggles slightly in the center when the pan is tapped on the side, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
4. Pour sour cream topping over filling and gently smooth top; continue baking for 5 minutes. Remove springform pan from water bath and let cool completely to room temperature. Chill until set, at least 4 hours or overnight, before serving.

* * *

Baked Potatoes with Bread Crumb-Parmesan Crust (Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)

6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter

5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 1/4 cup whole milk

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted, plus 1 tablespoon

1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Salt and freshly ground black pepper (You really have to add a lot of salt and pepper. There are the only 2 spices in this recipe, so don't be shy. Taste as you go.)

3 tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs

2 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish (I used a large circular pan) with 1 tablespoon of butter and set aside.

Cook the potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until they are very tender, about 15 minutes. Drain; return the potatoes to the same pot and mash well. Mix in the milk and melted butter. Mix in the mozzarella and 3/4 cup of the Parmesan. Season, to taste, with salt (a lot) and pepper. Transfer the potatoes to the prepared baking dish. Stir the bread crumbs and remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan in a small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the mashed potatoes. Add two tablespoons of heavy cream.  Taste and adjust salt and pepper.  If it doesn't have flavor now, it's not going to have it when it's finished baking!  Recipe can be prepared up to this point 6 hours ahead of time; cover and chill.

Bake, covered for 10 minutes. Then bake an additional 10 minutes, until the topping is golden brown.

And the Wild Rice Casserole.  Click here for recipe. 

And the ever popular and very fabulous Chocolate Caramel Tart from Marlow & Sons. Click here for recipe.  (Note: I took this picture in Brooklyn- the first time I made this pie.  The caramel was runny and gooey.  Not so when I made the same tart in Denver.  It suffered from an altitude sickness and the caramel got a bit burnt and the crust was a bit dry. Not to worry. I will correct my mistakes and make it again in the Mile-High City!)