Home Sick (Breakfast Bruschetta)

I spent all day yesterday taking care of two children—one of them three years old, the other thirty-two— a perfect waste of a sunny Sunday. They are both sick with some unknown bug, and though my husband stumbled off to the office this morning, I am stuck at home with the smaller, much more whiny patient.

She wants nothing more than to watch episodes of Old School Sesame Street on DVD, curl up in my lap, and breathe the Plague directly into my nostrils. I am determined to get her well and back in preschool as soon as possible. So I am feeding her good things, in hopes of hastening recovery.

We made Nigella’s Breakfast Bruschetta for lunch, another perfectly good and speedy recipe from her 2007 book, Nigella Express. The sick patient, who hadn’t eaten all morning, scarfed it down and said (stuffy-nosed and gratefully), “Thanks, Mob. I sure lub abocado.”

One healthy lunch and a dose of Children’s Motrin later, and she was passed out in bed for two hours. Score.

Easy Peasy (Nigella's Pea and Pesto Soup)

I wish I could say this soup was my idea. It’s so brilliant and simple. With 15 minutes and literally four strokes of your knife, you can get this verdant, flavorful soup onto your table (or, as goddess Nigella suggests, into a thermos for a workday lunch).

It's cheap, quick and made fabulous thanks to one of those “all the difference in the world” ingredients I love to use over and over again in my own kitchen- homemade pesto. I grew a ton of basil from seed this past summer, planted it in a border all around my yard, and made several batches of pesto while the bushes were nice and full. I froze my pesto in ice cube trays, which is a great way to store it in smaller portions for use all winter long. So when I came across the recipe this morning while perusing Nigella’s book, I popped a couple pesto cubes from the freezer and made the soup for lunch. It made me feel super healthy, and seemed to justify the handful of mellocreme pumpkins I ate for dessert.

Start:


15 Minutes Later:


15 Minutes After That:


Pea and Pesto Soup (from Nigella Express)

(feeds 2, generously)
3 cups water
3 cups frozen peas (I like petite peas)
2 scallions, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon lime juice
¼ cup fresh pesto (homemade or the “fresh” kind you find in tubs in the refrigerated section of the grocery store)

1. Bring water to a boil.
2. Add frozen peas, scallions, salt, and lime juice. Allow to simmer up to 7 minutes. (NOTE: Once I added the frozen peas, I let it all come back to a boil, but only for about 3 minutes.)
3. Discard scallions- blend the peas and the liquid with the pesto in a blender.
4. Test for seasoning (NOTE: I added a little more lime juice to my own taste. When it was all said and done, I used the juice from one small lime.)
5. Serve.

All the Difference in the World (Your Secret Ingredients)

So many of us these days (myself included) are stretching our food budgets to the limit, trying to save wherever we can. There are tons of websites and resources out there devoted to “feeding your family on a shoestring.” (One of the more valuable websites I've seen is Cook For Good, which helps people develop a healthy, budget-friendly and planet-friendly strategy for feeding a family for about $1.26 per meal. This site has gotten some buzz from Mark Bittman’s blog, if you’re interested in learning more.)

But cheap and healthy eating can become very monotonous. Lots of beans. Lots of homemade yogurt. Lots of homemade bread. Simple recipes are too often missing the special few ingredients that, while adding to the cost of the dish, punch up the flavor or add a richer mouthfeel that makes an otherwise lame-o dish truly satisfying.

A recent example: Last week I bought a very sub-par wedge of Parmesan (I use the name loosely) cheese. I didn’t want to cheap out completely and get the old Kraft-in-a-Can standby, but frankly, I might as well have. It was almost flavorless, with no discernable aroma, no nuttiness, no creaminess, no bite. Just rubbery and bland. In fact, it kind of ruined my homemade tomato sauce. Dammit!! Now I don’t even want to use the half a wedge that’s left, and I should have just spent the extra 3 bucks on a piece of real, well-aged Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Are you feelin’ me out there?

So I want to know: What are the crucial ingredients that give a boost to your home-cooked, shoestring dishes? When is it a bad idea to substitute a more economical ingredient for the real deal called for in the original recipe? Winter is coming, and we all need some fresh ideas to keep us inspired and healthy.

At The Stroke of Midnight...Pumpkin Cornmeal Pancakes

I love pumpkin. Not just because it has the power to transform almost any banal baked good into an incarnation moist and flavorful, but because every time I eat anything infused with this intensely-flavored squash, I think of my friend and surrogate sister, Nicole.

Nicole and I have been eating and laughing together since we were thirteen, and it is ridiculous how many memories of her and I involve the following: pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice, and mellow crème candy pumpkins. We used to gift each other with a bag of candy pumpkins every year, eating them by the handful as we curled up on the couch watching trash TV in our crappy little college apartment.

Nicole also used to whip up batches of pumpkin pancakes on occasion, in our tiny kitchen with the sloping floor, on cold mornings when we’d have the thermostat cranked down to 58° to save money. This recipe is an homage to hers—moist, dense, and replete with assertive spices and cornmeal for a surprising crunch. Make some. They are enough to turn even the grumpiest eater in your home into a morning person.




Pumpkin Cornmeal Pancakes (serves 2 adults generously)

½ cup cornmeal
½ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
½ cup pumpkin (pureed, from a can) (TIP: Portion out the rest of the can into half-cup servings and freeze for later use.)
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
¼ cup brown sugar
¾ cup milk
1 egg
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
Maple syrup

1. In a small pan warmed over medium heat, toast walnuts, stirring frequently, until they are browned on all sides and pleasantly fragrant. Remove from pan and set aside to cool.
2. In a large bowl, whisk to combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk to combine pumpkin, milk, egg, brown sugar and orange peel.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring to combine (but don’t over mix).
5. Heat a large frying pan or griddle over medium heat. Grease pan with a bit of oil or butter (I use a tad of both…butter for flavor, oil because it doesn’t scorch in the pan), and cook pancakes in batches, flipping once when bubbles form and burst on the surface of the cakes.
6. Serve warm, topped with toasted walnuts and maple syrup.

Summer's Last Gasp

Knowing full-well that fall in Denver could easily mean a foot of snow covering my lawn, we had a guest over alfresco to celebrate the last few days of Colorado summer. I also wanted to share some of my favorite flavors from Chef Eve Aronoff, talented owner of Ann Arbor’s eve.

I wrote a story about Eve for Edible WOW magazine last year, and instantly became smitten with her surprising mix of global flavors and classical French technique, all lavished on the very best of what is seasonal and local. Eve is a lovely person as well; warm, humble, but absolutely driven and meticulous in her craft. She was also a contestant on this season of Bravo’s Top Chef, and though she was eliminated early in the season, the fact that she earned a spot on the show in the first place speaks greatly to her talent.

For this last meal of summer, I served some tasty country-style ribs, rubbed with Eve’s chili mélange (a spice mix) and then braised in a cast iron skillet on the grill (too hot to have the oven on inside). With no time for a grocery run that day, I improvised using only the ingredients in my fridge and pantry, so I rubbed the ribs with the spice mélange, let them sit for a couple of hours, and then used Dr. Pepper and a sliced onion as the braising liquid. That’s right—Dr. Pepper. Don’t knock it till you try it. These ribs turned out tender and spicy-sweet, with minimal effort and expense.

The ribs were served with a simple Caprese salad using tomatoes and basil from the garden. And for dessert, I made Eve’s luscious Pots-de-crème, which is about as velvety and melt-in-your-mouth as chocolate can get. Best of all, each person gets their own portion of Brown Sugar Cream to accompany the cup of chocolate. My husband endearingly describes this dish as “being threatened by chocolate,” which means it’s perfect. It was also gluten-free, as required for our guest that evening. (And hey, if you’re going gluten-free, Pots-de-crème is a hell of a way to go.)






Pots-de-crème
(from Eve: contemporary cuisine- methode traditionelle by Eve Aronoff, 2006, Huron River Press)

(Serves 6)

(Note: the cookbook specifies the brands of chocolate used; I used the same types and percentages of chocolate, but not the same brands)

6 ounces Callebaut semi-sweet chocolate
4 ounces Cuizel 72% dark chocolate
2 ounces El Ray 41% milk chocolate
1 ¾ cup half and half
6 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon instant espresso (The restaurant uses Medaglia d’oro brand; I did too.)
Pinch of kosher salt
7 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla

Brown Sugar Cream (recipe follows)

1. Chop chocolate.
2. Bring half and half and sugar to just below a simmer in a medium, heavy
bottomed saucepan. Add chocolate, and whisk until smooth.
3. Add espresso and kosher salt.
4. Whisk yolks just to combine being careful not to over-mix.
5. Ladle chocolate mix into yolks, beating on low- just to incorporate and being careful not to over-mix.
6. Stir in vanilla.
7. Pour through strainer into pitcher, and divide equally into 6 small cups.
8. Chill until set, about 4 hours.
9. Garnish with a dollop of Brown Sugar Cream and an additional cupful of Brown Sugar Cream on the side so you can alternate bites.

Brown Sugar Cream
(makes 4 cups)

1 pint heavy whipping cream
¼ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons sour cream

1. Whip cream with whisk in mixing bowl or electric mixer until slightly thickened.
2. Add brown sugar, continue to whip. When still peaks form, add vanilla and sour cream.

Smoke and Mirrors (Fishy Restaurants)

I just picked up on this interesting article on NPR's health blog. I'm disappointed but not surprised to hear that there are restaurants out there that will switch the expensive fish you ordered (like grouper or red snapper) on the menu with a less expensive species like...wait for it...catfish. Geez.

My take? Eat out at restaurants that you trust and get to know your chef. Pick eateries that have a seasonal, local focus. Your fish many not come from a local source, but chefs that care about where their ingredients come from typically have a high level of culinary ethic and integrity.

Also...Learn To Cook Fish At Home. I know, I know. It's expensive and intimidating. But just try it...do something simple like broiled fillets seasoned with a little olive oil or butter, salt and pepper. Notice texture, subtle flavors and aromas that different fish bring to the table. Get some farm-raised salmon and some wild-caught salmon and compare flavor, color and texture.

I'm not even going to try to delve into the ethics of eating seafood, because it's a totally convoluted nightmare and others like Mark Bittman handle the subject with far more expertise than I. Plus, I'm not one to preach food ethics. As a food writer, I eat good food when I'm out--not necessarily ethical food (ie: veal, fois gras). And as a home cook on a very tight budget I've been known to succumb to bags of frozen shrimp raised on farms in Vietnam rather than the wild caught ones that cost nearly twice as much. So there you go.

But when it comes to restaurants that swap out your order for something of lesser quality, hoping that you just won't notice? For shame, for shame! I guess your mama didn't raise you right.

(photo above: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)

Plum-Nectarine Buckle (à la Martha)

There may be no dessert I like more than the buckle. It is perfect for those of us who appreciate the juicy succulence of seasonal fruit, but demand that be delivered to us wrapped in cake and sugary crumb topping. Buckles are the ultimate hybrid for the indecisive—sinful cross-breeds of cobbler and crisp wrapped up in one.

And if you are going to make a buckle, why settle for just one fruit? This Plum-Nectarine Buckle is one of my all time favorites. The sweetness of the nectarines (or peaches, if you prefer) and the tang of red plums compliment one another in the same way that the under-layer of buttery cake gives a harmonious nod to the orange-scented crunchy crumble topping.

This recipe came from one of my many archived back issues of Martha Stewart Living magazine (August 2005). I started collecting them in 1995 when I was fifteen, and though I no longer have a subscription, I always pull out and have handy the issues corresponding to both the current month and the upcoming month. No joke—they are indispensible references for home, kitchen and garden. Don’t judge me. Martha is a goddess as far as I’m concerned. And this buckle is heaven-sent. Enjoy.












Plum-Nectarine Buckle
(Serves 8-10)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (NOTE: I often cut the butter to 4 tablespoons and then supplement with 3 tablespoons of unsweetened applesauce; especially because I know deep down that I will end up scarfing down four of those “8-10” servings.)
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
Salt
1 large egg
2/3 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¾ pound plums, halved, pitted, and cut into ½ -inch thick wedges (2 cups)
¾ pound nectarines, halved, pitted, and cut into ½ -inch thick wedges (2 cups)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Crumble Topping (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Brush a 9-inch square cake pan or 10-inch cast iron skillet with 2 tablespoons melted butter; set aside. Whisk together flour, ¾ cup sugar, the baking powder, allspice, and ¾ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Whisk together egg, milk, vanilla, and remaining 4 tablespoons butter in another medium bowl. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; stir to combine. Spread batter evenly into buttered pan.
3. Toss plums, nectarines, lemon juice, remaining ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Spread fruit mixture evenly over batter. Sprinkle with topping. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 1 hour before serving.

Crumble Topping

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt

Combine butter, brown sugar and orange zest into bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until creamy. Stir in flour and salt. Work mixture through fingers until it forms coarse crumbs in size from peas to gum balls.