Recipes

Pan Con Tomate
    Now is really the only time you should try this recipe. The quality of your tomatoes is very important. Catalan pan con tomate is a simple tapa that can be assembled in minutes. This is more of a guideline than a recipe.

1 loaf of ciabatta or other rustic crusty bread, sliced and grilled or baked with olive oil brushed on the slices
A couple of great tomatoes, grated coarsely on a box grater.
A couple of cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper

Cauliflower Apple Puree

I know I have shared this recipe in the past, but it deserves a repeat. It is adapted from Daniel Boulud's "Cooking With Daniel Boulud" cookbook. Feel free to reduce the amount of cream to 1/2 cup like I do.

Serves four to six.

Spicy Beet & Carrot Slaw 
This summer slaw is a great side (and taco topping) that will fill you up and leave you hydrated.

Makes about four servings.

1 cup beets, shredded
1 cup carrots, shredded 
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
3 Tbsp. Primal Kitchen Chipotle Lime Mayo 
Juice from 1/2 lime 

Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Adjust mayo and lime to taste.

OMO's Shake 'n' Splash
This recipe is from David Falkowski of Open Minded Organics. He says, "this will make anyone a master on the grill." Put it on oyster mushrooms, chicken, zucchini, eggplant, or whatever strikes your fancy. I fried some yellow oyster mushrooms with this last night and decided it would make a fine hors d'oeuvre, speared with toothpicks.

Makes a lot, feel free to reduce recipe.

A quick and easy stir-fry recipe for spring vegetables

Brie, Bacon, and Fig Jam Toasts
I don’t remember where I got this recipe but it is a big hit as a heavy hors d’oeuvre. This is more a guideline than a recipe.

Sliced and toasted baguette
Small slices of Brie, cut to fit baguette slices
Fig jam
Cooked bacon

 Place brie on top of toasted baguettes, then spread about one teaspoon of fig jam onto brie. Top with a piece of bacon that is approximately same size as slice of brie, about a quarter slice of bacon. 

Market Street Meatloaf, From The Silver Palate     

I’m not going to share the recipe here because you can find it online, but I can’t recommend the Market Street meatloaf (from one of the Silver Palate cookbooks) enough. To freeze leftovers, slice the meatloaf, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then seal in Ziploc baggies. Make some sweet and russet mashed potatoes as well. Portion these out with an ice cream scoop to freeze individual portions, or press into a flat layer in a freezer bag for easy defrosting and reheating.
 

Roasted Cauliflower With

Lemon Parsley Dressing and Other Stuff

This recipe, reproduced on many websites including that of Saveur magazine, is widely credited to Craig Claiborne.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

I love anything lemon, so this is one of the first recipes I am going to make from Nick Voulgaris III’s book “The Kerber’s Farm Cookbook.”

Makes approximately 16 cookies.

1 3/4 cups flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

Faux Mission Chinese Chicken Wings

Having just dined at Mission Chinese for the first time, I immediately ordered the restaurant’s cookbook. I do not have it yet, but I found this recipe online, which is supposed to replicate Mission’s famous chicken wings with xxx spice.

3 lbs. split chicken wings

3 Tbsp. oil

Salt and pepper

Penn’s Pecans

I got this recipe from my friend Marsha, who got it from her friend Penn. So they are called Penn’s pecans. They are a bit of work, but easy and so good!

Makes one pound.

2/3 cup bourbon

1 lb. whole pecans

1 Tbsp. oil

Several dashes of Worcestershire sauce

Cassoulet 2.0

This recipe is a combination of many recipes. I prefer more vegetables to meat, so that is what I did. It is very rich.

There are apparently three regional versions of cassoulet, Castelnaudary, Carcassonne, and Toulouse. Feel free to tailor this recipe any way you desire. I did not bother with the breadcrumb topping that is occasionally a part of this dish. 

Serves six to eight.

Lighter Brunswick Stew

This version is a hodge-podge of recipes I found. Think of it as more of a guideline than a recipe.

1 rotisserie chicken, skinned, boned, meat shredded, and set aside

1 Vidalia onion, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 cups frozen lima beans

This recipe comes from the Bridgehampton Inn and Restaurant’s “Look and Cook Book.”

No need to feel guilty about this salad this time of year, everything is local except for the pecans.

If you’re feeling inspired to make your own chowder, here is a recipe found in several locations. Saveur magazine published it in 2007 and credited it to the 1898 edition of the L.V.I.S. cookbook. Round Swamp Farm has the identical recipe on its website and defines it as a Lester family recipe.

Charlie Whitmore, son of Eleanor and Doc, owner of Charlie and Sons Landscapes, has been a vegan for 30 years. After a surfing trip to Mexico about eight years ago, he returned with a desire to learn how to make his own tortillas for their family Taco Tuesday nights.

Pasta With Turkey Sausage and Peas

By Sandra Vorpahl

Serves 14 to 16 people.

4 tbs. olive oil

2 lbs. turkey sausage, removed from casing

1 package frozen peas

2 lbs. pasta (whole-wheat bow tie or penne)

2 cloves garlic

It’s decorative gourd season, people, let’s get that pumpkin spice fever!

There is still plenty of time for you to get some big tomatoes to make sauce, smaller ones to oven dry, and corn to freeze.

Here are some of the recipes from “Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One” that were served at Almond.

Zoodles are such a thing right now, you can find them already spiralized at grocery and gourmet stores.

These are more like suggestions and guidelines than recipes. Right now you should be finding spinach, arugula, baby lettuces, radishes, asparagus, and kale at your local farmer’s market or your own garden.

A somewhat peculiar recipe, and the color is disconcerting. It is a vibrant Pepto-Bismol pink, but it is delicious and I make it every year to go with turkey, and later, roast beef sandwiches.

Galettes are rustic French open-topped pastries, usually made with fruits. Inspired by some reading I was doing on the food of Southwest France, where most of France's pumpkins are grown, I decided to try putting the two ideas together for something new to do with pumpkin or its many cousins (Hubbards, butternut, acorn, Turk's turban, or sweet dumpling [Delicata] squashes).

Make this the day before Thanksgiving and you will have only to add the drippings from the turkey on the great day when you're all hassled anyway. Refrigerate it and reheat it while the turkey is being carved.

Get your little pumpkins right away because they will all be spoiled if they freeze in the field and they keep wonderful at garage temperature. A gang of them arranged on a huge white platter with sprigs of kale for garnish are almost as spectacular as the bird.

While I like all poultry headed for the smoker, gas grill, or oven to be brined at least for a few hours, for a more emphatic flavoring, a brine cum marinade works wonderfully. It's also useful when you don't want to cook your bird for a couple of days. This turkey was left in its marinade in a large covered canner (on the floor of a near-freezing garage colder than my refrigerator) for three days. Carved in thin, small slices this 15-pounder goes a long, long way for a buffet or cocktail party fare.

Turkey on the grill is perhaps my favorite route to a juicy, brown bird - it's fast too. But the stuffing must be cooked separately via oven casserole, which I always do anyway, since even a stuffed bird never has enough stuffing to satisfy my family and friends.