Wild Rice Salad

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Susan

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Today was my book club day.  There are about 20 of us in our group, all of whom are good cooks and appreciative diners.  This group of women is funny, smart and well traveled and we laugh a lot.   We meet once a month and each of us brings a dish to share for lunch after our book discussion.  Every month (and we’ve been doing this for almost 10 years now) we marvel at how delicious our buffet is.  We never coordinate, we never plan a menu, but somehow it always works out that we have an amazing array of food—that goes together perfectly!

Our book this time was Pat Conroy’s new South of Broad.  We agreed that maybe this one wasn’t our favorite in his body of work (and he is certainly one of our great writers) but that it was well worth reading and spurred a good and lively discussion about living in the South, about Charleston, religion, race relations, family and all sorts of other interesting stuff.

Our luncheon was composed of lots of dishes appropriate to South of Broad.  We had chicken salads, pasta salads, shrimp and grits, finger sandwiches, pound cake and trifle.  My offering was this wild rice salad, which is easy to make, can be done ahead, and likes to be left on the counter until you’re ready to eat it.  All good qualities for a potluck dish.

Wild Rice Salad

2 cups wild rice, rinsed
4 cups low sodium chicken stock
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1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
8 ounces smoked ham or turkey, diced
8 green onions, sliced
¼ cup dried cranberries
½ cup sliced green olives

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon curry powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the rice and the chicken stock in a saucepan, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and then simmer until the rice is tender but still firm and the liquid is absorbed.  Stir and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, honey, cumin, curry powder, cayenne pepper.  Add the olive oil and whisk until emulsified.  Add the cooked wild rice, chickpeas, ham or turkey, scallions, cranberries, and green olives.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve at room temperature.

Note:  This salad can be made ahead of time—just bring it to room temperature before serving.

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Green Soup

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Susan

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We’ve been enjoying a little “cold snap” here in Florida for the past week or so, which has put us all into the fall mood.  And on the coldest day of all (the high daytime temperature was 69 degrees!) I fell into a soup-making mood.  In full nesting mode and not in the mood for a trip to the store, my refrigerator yielded a head of broccoli as my main ingredient and so I started to look for a recipe.  I found one to adapt by Barbara Kafka from her book Soup.  Served with Parmesan toast, this was just the thing for a blustery fall day.

Green Soup
Makes 6 cups

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 medium-size russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
5 cups Chicken Stock (homemade would be great, but I used commercial and it was fine)
1 small head broccoli, stems peeled and cut into pieces, tops cut into florets
1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and all of the liquid squeezed out
3 teaspoons kosher salt (taste after the addition of each one to avoid over salting)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a soup pot or large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until they are soft and translucent.  DSC_0003

Add the potatoes and chicken stock, bring to a boil, and then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the broccoli and the spinach, cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until all of the vegetables are very soft.

Strain the soup broth into another saucepan and transfer the vegetables to a food processor.  Puree the vegetables until very smooth and then whisk them back into the reserved soup broth.  Season with salt and pepper.  When ready to serve, heat through again.

Parmesan Toast

2 thick slices of sourdough (or whatever sturdy bread you have on hand)
Olive Oil
Grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Drizzle some olive oil onto the bread slices, and then sprinkle them generously with the grated Parmesan cheese.  Put on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, and then start watching them.   The cheese should be brown and bubbly when you take them out.  Cut into serving pieces.

Posted in Soup and Stew | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Roast Shrimp with Chili Mayonnaise

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Susan

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I love to watch Ina Garten as the Barefoot Contessa.  I love her gentle, calm and confident manner when she’s in her kitchen showing us what to do.   The way she cooks matches her simple, carefully refined recipes.  Her reassuring voice tells me that I can do this too.  And I like the segments when she sits serenely at a modern desk cleared of clutter, but for her chic chrome lamp, her laptop and her oh so tasteful coffee cup.  She helps me to imagine a life defined by comfortable discipline and organization. She makes her days seem to be rich with all the time in the world to thoughtfully consider and perfect her recipes—which she then presents to her guests—and to those of us watching—with grace and good humor.

My parents were in Paris in the late 1940s (because my father worked at the U.S. Embassy there…) for a while just after Julia and Paul Child had left Paris for Marseilles.  My mother used to sigh “I was so sorry to have just missed Julia—everyone said she was so much fun.”  She saw a missed opportunity for a friendship with a fascinating woman—and even though our paths haven’t neared crossing, that’s how I feel about Ina.  Sigh.

I just bought Ina’s new Barefoot Contessa cookbook, Back to Basics.  And now, one of my new favorite things to do is to roast shrimp.  Ina’s wonderful recipe suggests the dish as an appetizer served with cocktail sauce (which was very good…) but my family also likes it this way—for dinner, with a simple chili mayonnaise dipping sauce, roasted potatoes and a green salad.

Roast Shrimp with Chili Mayonnaise

Serves 4

Ingredients for the Shrimp
2 pounds of shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails left on
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Kosher Salt and Coarse Ground Pepper to taste

Ingredients for the Sauce
¼ cup chili sauce
½ cup mayonnaise
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon lemon juice

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Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Arrange the shrimp in one layer on a baking sheet (for easier clean up, you can cover the baking sheet with foil if you like).  Drizzle the olive oil over the shrimp and then sprinkle the shrimp with the salt and pepper.  Roast the shrimp for about 10 minutes, just until they are pink and cooked through.

For the sauce, combine the ingredients (can be made ahead) and serve as a dip with the shrimp.

Shrimp on Foodista

Posted in Fish, Main Course, RECIPES | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Roast Tomato, Green Bean and Eggplant Platter

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Susan

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If there is a theme that seems to be running through this blog, I am learning that I am, for the most part, a make-it-ahead-of-time cook.  My kitchen and my family room are one big room, so it doesn’t really work for me to be doing big-time cooking too close to the dinner hour.  Too messy, too chaotic.   I like to sit down before dinner—sip on something to drink—watch the news or talk with my family or guests.   When it’s time to eat, I like to be able to finish whatever needs doing quickly—and without too big a mess—so that eating is relaxed and there isn’t a ton of clean up work to do afterward.

Like everyone else, I love casseroles, but you don’t want them every night.  Meat or fish on the grill is served often at our house and roasted vegetables are the perfect make-ahead accompaniment.

For this recipe, you need to be home for a couple of hours before you eat, but other than that, it is pretty simple to prepare—you go back and forth “checking on” things, but the preparation and clean up is easy and you can load your beautifully roasted vegetables onto an oven-safe platter, let them stand at room temperature until about 10 minutes before you want to eat and just heat them up while you’re setting the table (if you haven’t already done that…) They look good, they taste good and they’re good for you…enjoy!

Roast Tomato, Green Bean and Eggplant Platter

Ingredients:

For the Tomatoes:DSC_0033

2 pounds tomatoes (on the small side—even cherry tomatoes work well)
Olive Oil
6 cloves garlic finely minced
Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper
2 ounces fresh goat cheese

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Cut the tomatoes in half and arrange them, cut side up on a baking sheet.  Season them with salt and pepper, sprinkle the minced garlic over and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Cook the tomatoes for about 2 hours until they have released most of their juices and are beginning to caramelize.  Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes before serving or leave at room temperature if you are making ahead.

For the Green Beans:DSC_0034

1 pound green beans trimmed, washed, rinsed and dried
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Arrange the clean, dry green beans on a baking sheet, drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil over, season with salt and pepper to taste and toss lightly to coat.  Roast for about 10 minutes, stir and roast for another 10 minutes or until lightly browned at the edges.

For the Eggplant:DSC_0035

1 Eggplant, sliced into ¼-inch slices
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground pepper

Lay the sliced eggplant on paper towels, sprinkle each slice with a little salt, and let stand for 1 hour.  After the hour, blot the eggplant of all moisture with paper towels.  Arrange the slices on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive on both sides and sprinkle with pepper.  Roast the slices in a 375 degree oven, turning occasionally, until they are brown at the edges, and hold their shape.

To present the dish, arrange the three vegetables on a platter, and sprinkle the tomatoes with crumbled goat cheese.

Posted in Main Course, Vegetable, Vegetables | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Food Matters-Book Review

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Susan

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Reading Mark Bittman’s new book, Food Matters feels as good as cleaning out a closet—it’s so energizing to get rid of some of the old stuff and make room for something new and fresh.  His wisdom follows along that of Michael Pollan Continue reading →

Posted in BOOK REVIEWS | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Canapé Cups

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Susan

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Here is a trio of ideas for “a little something” when you’re having people over and aren’t quite ready for the big meal.  I like to buy these prepackaged shells (also called croustades) at our grocery store and keep them in my pantry.  As an alternative to these cups, I have also used tortilla or corn chip “scoopers”, or frozen phyllo cups, and sometimes even make croustades by taking sandwich bread, rolling it flat, cutting the slices into quarters, pressing them into mini muffin tins and baking them into toasts.   Whatever form of cup or shell I end up with, I can usually find things in the refrigerator or the pantry to fill them with.  Or, if I have time to plan and shop—these three fillings are on my favorites list.

Canapé Cups

Filling #1:  Goat Cheese, Lemon, Pepper, Thyme and Olive OilDSC_0072

Ingredients:

15 packaged crispy shells (or scoops, cups or other croustades)
1 4-ounce log soft goat cheese
Salt and fresh, coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 small garlic clove, pressed

Preparation:

Spoon about a teaspoon of goat cheese into each canapé cup.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme.  Mix the olive oil, lemon peel and garlic in a small bowl.  Drizzle a few drops of the oil mixture on each canapé, and serve.

Filling #2:  Cheddar Cheese, Black Olives and CuminDSC_0002

Ingredients:

1 cup grated white cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
¼ cup chopped black olives (I used Kalamata olives)
1 green onion, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon ground cumin (or more to your taste)

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the cheese, mayonnaise, olives, onion and cumin and stir to combine well.  Taste to correct the seasoning to your liking.  Place a teaspoon of the mixture into each canapé cup. (Don’t fill them too full or they will bubble over.)  Place the cups on a baking sheet, put in the oven and heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or just until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Filling #3:  Cream Cheese and Pepper JellyDSC_0075

Ingredients:

1 4-ounce package of cream cheese
About ¼ cup of any pepper jelly (jalapeno, red pepper, etc.) that you like

Preparation:

Place about a teaspoon of cream cheese into each cup, and as ½ teaspoon of pepper jelly on top.

Posted in Appetizer | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments