Roasted fingerlings with red and yellow piperade

The November issue of Bon Appetit is stocked full of Thanksgiving recipes, definitely pick it up if you are planning to do the cooking for family or friends this year.

I wanted to try this side because we love fingerling potatoes and we received red and yellow bell peppers and onions in our last CSA box of the year. I will miss the weekly produce, but the City Market will still have produce on the weekends for another month or so. I used a combination of farm-raised fingerlings and Amy's organic fingerling potatoes.

The fresh herbs and vinegar at the end really made this a special side dish.

roasted fingerlings with red and yellow pipérade
Bon Appétit November 2007
Michael Lomonaco

Ingredients
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, cut into 1/4- to 1/3-inch-wide strips
2 large yellow bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, cut into 1/4- to 1/3-inch-wide strips
1 large red onion, halved through core, thinly sliced crosswise
3 pounds fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup Champagne vinegar

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°F. Pour 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil onto large rimmed baking sheet. Spread all peppers and sliced onion over, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast 10 minutes. Place halved potatoes and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Arrange potatoes in single layer atop peppers. Roast until potatoes are tender and beginning to turn golden, about 50 minutes.

DO AHEAD: Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm in 425°F oven for 10 minutes before continuing.Sprinkle chopped parsley and shallots over potatoes and toss to coat. Roast potatoes 5 minutes longer.

Transfer potatoes to large platter. Sprinkle with chives, basil, and thyme. Drizzle with Champagne vinegar and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pipérade refers to the classic Basque stew made with tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and garlic.

Mushroom Soup & Red Guitar Wine

I am going to try to catch up on a few recipes, starting with a great Mushroom soup I made earlier this week. I couldn't pass up the over sized jug of dried gourmet mushrooms at Costco last week. I was envisioning Mushroom sauce for steaks, Mushroom soup, Mushroom risotto...you get the picture. For $10, a collection of gourmet shrooms that if purchased fresh, would easily would cost ten times that at Whole Foods. It was worth a shot. I loved it, my husband didn't like the larger chunks, I will puree the soup next time and cut the mushrooms into smaller pieces; but overall, this is a wonderful recipe. And, of course, fresh mushrooms could be substituted. The sherry and thyme really stand out and give it a restaurant quality. This would be great to serve guests.

We had bread and a great, cheap wine. If you haven't tried it yet, you should pick up a bottle of Red Guitar 2005 Navarra. It is less than $10, a fruity Spanish blend of Grenache & Tempranillo. A great, every day wine that stood up to the sherry in the soup. And yes, the label is really cute!

Here is a good blog review of the wine, with comments:
http://volunteer.blogs.com/winewaves/2006/10/red_guitar_nava.html

Manitou Mushroom Soup
3 cups re-hydrated Gourmet Mushroom Blend
2 large onions finely chopped
8 large cloves of garlic crushed
3-4 cups heavy cream (more cream = thinner soup)
6 cups beef broth
2-3 T sea salt
1 stick whole butter
1/2 - 1 cup flour (more flour = thicker soup)
1 cup sherry

In a large soup pot, melt the butter on medium low heat. Cook the garlic and onion until translucent. Add the re-hydrate mushrooms and cook until the moisture is mostly gone. Add the flour. Stirring often, cook for 5-7 minutes or until the flour looks and/or smells lightly toasted. Add the wine, and cook for two minutes. Add the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes.

Add the fresh thyme and cream and cook for 2-3 minutes. Serve with warm bread. Serves 6-8

Dinner for one

I have a lot of recipes to catch up on. It has been a really busy couple of weeks, with work, travel, football, fantasy football (if you can't beat them, join them...) and life in general. I don't have much time now, but I do want to share my favorite dinner for one recipe. This is generally a female favorite.

We received the best red plums in our CSA this month; sadly it was just one week, but they were delicious. On one of my evenings at home alone, I made this salad. Blue cheese or Gorgonzola would have made it perfect, but all I had was Parmesan. Next time...

Plum, Walnut & Mixed Greens w/Balsamic Vinaigrette

Place mixed greens on plate. Slice one ripe, red plum over greens.

Sprinkle small handfull (about 4 whole) of broken walnut pieces over plums.

Garnish with cracked black pepper and Parmesan cheese.

Vinaigrette

2 T. balsamic vinegar

4 T. olive oil

1/2 shallot, finely minced

1 t. brown sugar

Whisk ingredients until emulsified.

Dress salad. Eat.

**** Taste

* Difficulty

What is your favorite River Market restaurant?

There are so many great restaurants in the River Market, and I think that each has its own special time and place. For example, Sunday brunch and Wednesday night are definitely Succotash-worthy. Cafe Al Dente is a great for those nights when you just can't cook. Vivace is a nicer restaurant and the perfect place to take out-of-town guests so you can impress with the ice bar.

I haven't included all of the restaurants in the River Market, just the ones we frequent on a weekly basis. Let me know your favorite. Obviously, not limited to Kansas Citians, even if you've visited (family), what has been your favorite?

Beef Biryani

Last night I tried another recipe from delicious. magazine, the wonderful Australian food magazine. The recipe was contributed by Ben O'Donoghue and he suggested that it was an easy curry dish for a Friday night. I really liked the idea of layering partially cooked rice, onions and fresh herbs over the curry in a dutch oven to finish cooking and steam the rice with loads of flavor. It is a great method and the basmati rice (purchased in the City Market at 5:45 last night) was wonderful.

This was a much more labor intensive recipe than I imagined, I find myself in this situation quite often, but it was worth it...especially to try something new.

Ben writes that biryani originates in the Hyderabad in central India, and more often than not, these dishes are vegetarian. The skirt steak is a cheap cut of meat, but when marinated and cooked in this manner, it is actually very tender.

I would change a few things if I make it again. For starters, the spices were almost overwhelming, especially the cardamom and cloves. I considered using ground cloves, but decided to honor the recipe. I also purchased cardamom seeds, rather than pods, so every bite of the curry had a whammy of clove or cardamom crunch and punch. If I had corrected that issue, I probably would be making this again next week. The best thing about trying something new is finding a new method; now I will try some different flavor and meat combinations.

beef biryani

Adapted from delicious. magazine, vol 4 issue 7

Ben O'Donoghue

Serves 6

18 oz beef skirt steak, thinly sliced

1/4 cup tomato paste

Pinch of saffron threads

1/4 cup milk

2 1/2 cups basmati rice

1 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped, plus leaves to garnish

Marinade

4 T peeled, grated ginger

10 garlic cloves

3 long red chilies, roughly chopped

2 T slice peeled papaya (optional)

2 T sunflower oil

1/2 cup natural yogurt, plus extra to serve

Juice of 1 lemon

1 T ground turmeric

Spice mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 onions, thinly sliced

2 t cardamom pods, bruised with back of a knife

1 cinnamon quill, broken

2 t cloves

2 - 3 bay leaves

For the marinade, place ginger, garlic, chili, papaya, if using, and oil in a small bowl of a food processor, or use a stick blender, and puree until smooth. Pour into a bowl with the remaining marinade ingredients and stir will to combine. Place steak in a large bowl, pour marinade over and mix to coat, then set aside to marinate while you make the spice mix.

For the spice mix, heat oil in a large flameproof casserole or wide heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat until almost smoking, add two-thirds of the onion and fry for 5 - 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove onion from casserole and set aside. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook remaining onion and spice mix ingredients for 3-4 minutes, until slightly golden.

Reserving the marinade, add the meat to the casserole with the spice mix. Cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until meat is sealed all over. Stir in the tomato paste and reserve marinade, then simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325. Stir the saffron threads into the milk and set aside to soak for 20 minutes. Wash and drain the rice. Cook in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 6-8 minutes. Drain and arrange over the meat, alternating layers with reserved fried onion, mint and cilantro. Pour the saffron milk over, cover with a tight-fitting lid, then bake for 15 minutes until the rice is cooked and beef is tender. Serve in bowls topped with the extra yogurt and coriander leaves.

The Foodie Blog Roll

I've added a new feature to the blog. On the right you'll see the Foodie Blog Roll, possibly the most comprehensive site on the web for foodie blogs. There are a lot of cool sites with great recipes, photography and commentary. I hope you check out some of the sites and maybe, you can figure out what's for dinner.

Plum perfection...if patient

The September issue of Bon Appetit had a ton of recipes featuring plums so, the only think I can say is…the magazine made me do it. We didn’t need a dessert. We didn’t need anything sweet. I was home by myself, enjoying a really nice, quiet evening, watching a rerun of Top Chef. (The one when Howie tries to quit.) Why did I choose to involve myself in a relatively easy, yet time consuming recipe that probably needs to be served for company with a really nice dinner?I knew I was going to do something with plums, just not necessarily on a Wednesday night. I bought 10 shiny black plums earlier this week because I merely skimmed and bookmarked the recipe. This recipe calls for red plums, but the black plums worked just fine. They might be a little bigger than red plums; I think I used six and a half in an All-Clad non-stick nine-inch pan. The reviews for the recipe online also caution that it creates a lot of juice, and it does. I added just a little flour mixed with water to the juice right before covering it with the pastry. I think that really helped to thicken it enough to keep it from running all over the plate.
There is a major problem with trying this at home, alone. As soon as it comes out of the oven, you want to taste it. Just a little bite. Is that too much to ask? Apparently it is. Because this is to cool completely before you invert it onto a plate. Not fair, I say. Not fair at all.

I broke the recipe rules and paid for it. It was not set up, but it was close. We had an unexpected gathering, after my evening alone. And there I was, waiting with a lovely ending to a lovely evening. I served it, it was runny and delicious. Tart and sweet and perfect; even if was a bit runny.

plum tarte tatin

Bon Appétit September 2007
Makes 6 servings

ingredients
1 cup crème fraîche*
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17.3-ounce package), thawed
2 1/4 pounds sweet firm red plums (such as Burgundies or Satsumas), halved, pitted
2 tablespoons plus 2/3 cup sugar, divided
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

preparation
Whisk crème fraîche and orange peel in small bowl. Cover; chill. Roll out pastry on lightly floured surface; trim corners to create circle. Place on plate. DO AHEAD: Crème fraîche and crust can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and chill. Preheat oven to 400°F.

Mix plums, 2 tablespoons sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel, nutmeg, and seeds from vanilla bean in large bowl. Let stand 30 minutes.Melt butter in heavy ovenproof 9-inch-diameter skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle remaining 2/3 cup sugar evenly over melted butter. Tightly arrange plums, cut side up, in concentric circles in skillet (plums will appear slightly uneven but will soften while cooking, creating even layer). Drizzle accumulated juices from bowl over top. Cook over medium heat, shaking skillet gently to prevent sticking. Continue cooking until syrup turns deep red, pressing plums slightly to form compact layer, about 35 minutes.

Remove skillet from heat; cool 10 minutes.Slide crust atop plums in skillet. Press crust edges down around plums at edge of skillet. Cut several slits to allow steam to escape. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Cool tart completely in skillet.Rewarm in skillet set over high heat to loosen, about 3 minutes. Place large platter over skillet. Using oven mitts hold skillet and platter together and invert, allowing tart to settle onto platter. Slowly lift off skillet.

Let stand at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours at room temperature.

Serve with orange crème fraîche.*Sold at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores.
Makes 6 servings