Well I can't say that I haven't have time, and I can't say that I have nothing to say. All I can say is that I am finally around to uploading some details of the large thanksgiving meal we had last week. I think possibly it was the size of the task at hand, with three starters, fourteen different main dishes and three desserts. Even so, there was not a lot of preparitory work to do in the days leading up to thanksgiving, mainly making both turkey and vegetable stock.
So, to start we had a duo of soups: a butternut squash soup with sage, and a cream of asparagus soup with fresh thyme. We served these with delicious little cheese biscuits Robin made, and a selection of local Indiana cheeses we bought from the local cheese shop on Main street (yes Main Street is the main street through Lafayette). We also enjoyed a rather nice mulled cider while people were milling around (for those outside the US, cider refers usually to unfilted apple juice, where as hard cider is alcoholic).
The main meal was made up of the following dishes:
Roast organic turkey with an orange, ginger & sage glaze
Vegeloaf with roasted red pepper sauce
Cranberry apple and maple sauce
Pomegranate gravy
Country bread, italian sausage and sage dressing
Potato, spinach and gruyere gratin
Stuffed sweet potatoes with pecan and marshmallow streusel
Green beans with olives, lemon and toasted almonds
Brussel sprouts in brown butter with pancetta
Honey glazed radishes
Maple roasted parsnips
Baked carrots with cumin & thyme
Skillet cornbread with pancetta and poblanos
Honey saffron loaf
Dessert involved two dishes of my own making and one of Noami's creations from Mexico:
Pumpkin custard profiteroles with glazed maple pecans
Angel food cake with and orange and orange blossom water syrup
Pineapple upside-down cake (volteado de piña)
I will slowly post them over the following days along with pictures, but to get us started, the starters!
Butternut squash soup with sage
1 butternut squash, cubed
2 tbsp butter
1 white onion, chopped
1 stalk sage, leaves removed and chopped, stalk retained
1 cup vegetable stock (home made preferably)
1 cup whole milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Simply steam the cubes of squash until very tender. Mash with a fork and place in a sieve over a bowl and leave for about an hour. Sweat the onion in the butter with a pinch of salt and the sage stalk (not the leaves) until softened. Add the squash and stock and simmer for 10 mins. Add the milk, simmer for a further 2 mins then process in either a blender or food processor. Put back into a saucepan and add sliced sage, and salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Cream of asparagus soup
Bunch of asparagus, wshed and chopped into inch pieces
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, diced
1 cup vegetable stock (preferably home made)
3 springs thyme
1/2 cup cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Sweat the onion in the butter with a pinch of salt until softened (3 mins). Add the asparagus and cook for a further 2 mins. Add the vegetable stock and two stalks of thyme and simmer until the asparagus is tender. Process in a blender or food processor (removing the stalks of thyme) and place back in the saucepan. Add the cream, the leaves from the final stalk of sage and salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
A Mid-week feast - Enjoying a fine glass of Beaujolais Nouveau
In preparation for our thanksgiving feast this Thursday we needed wine (of course) so we went to the local bottle shop, which is the only good wine shop in town. We entered the store and were confronted by this delightful sight...
Beaujolais Nouveau is the first French wine of the season and historically a cause for celebration (just like most things that happen in France). It can only be open and sold after the 3rd Thursday of November, as the top of the box suggests.
The wine itself is a light red, closer to a rose than a traditional red. It was exactly what I was after to drink with the thanksgiving menu I have been planning. However I couldn't stop at the four bottles we wanted so I had to get one of the five cases in the Lafayette area. We have had the wine before, as a great celebration meal at Le Classic, our old local French restaurant with food and wine parings centered around the Beaujolais Nouveau. Anyway we couldn't wait to try this seasons bottle, so we went home and popped the cork.
The wine was beautiful, very light for a red. This is best displayed by the fact that Gemma loves it (she doesn't usually like any reds). While light in body, it makes up for it with a large fruity aroma smelling of blackberries and raspberries. Generally a great drop to have on a hot day with a light meal. OR on a really cold night (it's supposed to snow here either tonight or tomorrow night).
In order to fully appreciate the subtleties of the wine, as well as cure a hunger we had, i knocked up a quick cheesy pasta with prosciutto. It was simple and quick (fulfilling my needs) and cheesy and prosciuttoy (fulfilling Gemma's needs).
Anyway here is the recipe:
Cheesy pasta with prosciutto
2-3 slices prosciutto, sliced thin
1/2 red onion, sliced fine
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
small handful baby spinach, chopped
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup cheddar cheese
2 tbsp goats cheese
1 cup uncooked pasta
salt
4 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente (with a slight bite left). Saute the prosciutto and onion in the olive oil (no need to add salt, as there should be enough from the prosciutto). After a few minutes add the garlic and butter. Saute until melted and the garlic is fragrant. Add the flour stirring well. Cook for a few minutes stirring often. Add the milk a little at a time (there is no need to warm the milk before hand so long as you add it in installments and stir well to combine between). Allow to simmer for a few minutes, then add the cheeses. Stir to melt and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the pasta when cooked and stir to combine. Separate into bowls and grate Parmesan cheese over the top.
Beaujolais Nouveau is the first French wine of the season and historically a cause for celebration (just like most things that happen in France). It can only be open and sold after the 3rd Thursday of November, as the top of the box suggests.
The wine itself is a light red, closer to a rose than a traditional red. It was exactly what I was after to drink with the thanksgiving menu I have been planning. However I couldn't stop at the four bottles we wanted so I had to get one of the five cases in the Lafayette area. We have had the wine before, as a great celebration meal at Le Classic, our old local French restaurant with food and wine parings centered around the Beaujolais Nouveau. Anyway we couldn't wait to try this seasons bottle, so we went home and popped the cork.
The wine was beautiful, very light for a red. This is best displayed by the fact that Gemma loves it (she doesn't usually like any reds). While light in body, it makes up for it with a large fruity aroma smelling of blackberries and raspberries. Generally a great drop to have on a hot day with a light meal. OR on a really cold night (it's supposed to snow here either tonight or tomorrow night).
In order to fully appreciate the subtleties of the wine, as well as cure a hunger we had, i knocked up a quick cheesy pasta with prosciutto. It was simple and quick (fulfilling my needs) and cheesy and prosciuttoy (fulfilling Gemma's needs).
Anyway here is the recipe:
Cheesy pasta with prosciutto
2-3 slices prosciutto, sliced thin
1/2 red onion, sliced fine
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
small handful baby spinach, chopped
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup cheddar cheese
2 tbsp goats cheese
1 cup uncooked pasta
salt
4 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente (with a slight bite left). Saute the prosciutto and onion in the olive oil (no need to add salt, as there should be enough from the prosciutto). After a few minutes add the garlic and butter. Saute until melted and the garlic is fragrant. Add the flour stirring well. Cook for a few minutes stirring often. Add the milk a little at a time (there is no need to warm the milk before hand so long as you add it in installments and stir well to combine between). Allow to simmer for a few minutes, then add the cheeses. Stir to melt and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the pasta when cooked and stir to combine. Separate into bowls and grate Parmesan cheese over the top.
Cooking for Thanksgiving - Veggieloaf
For those of you who don't know, thanksgiving is coming up in the US, Thursday to be exact. It's basically an excuse to get a few days off work, travel halfway across the country (if you are so inclined) to be with family and eat mountains of food while either a) watching American football, b) drinking with family, c) remembering that while you love your family, it's great you only have to see them once a year, or d) all of the above. While I must admit this is not my experience, I have been told by others that this is the case.
Anyway, we have actually been celebrating thanksgiving in Australia since 2004 when we hosted John from Seattle. This will be however our first thanksgiving in both America and in the cold (it's almost snowing). We decided that as we would be celebrating thanksgiving in West Lafayette, we would gather together those others that did not want to travel but wanted good food and company.
So we have thirteen people getting together this Thursday at Robin's place (again :)) Group consensus was that I would look after the menu and the planning (and pre-cooking), everyone would help cook on the day, everyone would put in $20, with any money left over to be donated to a local charity in keeping with the thanksgiving spirit. Over the next few days I will relay the dishes we end up cooking, but I thought that I would start with a veggieloaf. I had a few requests for a vegetarian main dish to go along with the turkey, that 'could be smothered in cranberry jelly'. So after consulting many recipes, I took my inspiration from a vegetable loaf with lentils, falafel, the chickpea and spiced patty, and Alton Brown's technique for meatloaf.
For the Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:
4 red peppers, roasted & diced
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained
4 cloves garlic
6 oz. silken tofu (170g)
Anyway, we have actually been celebrating thanksgiving in Australia since 2004 when we hosted John from Seattle. This will be however our first thanksgiving in both America and in the cold (it's almost snowing). We decided that as we would be celebrating thanksgiving in West Lafayette, we would gather together those others that did not want to travel but wanted good food and company.
So we have thirteen people getting together this Thursday at Robin's place (again :)) Group consensus was that I would look after the menu and the planning (and pre-cooking), everyone would help cook on the day, everyone would put in $20, with any money left over to be donated to a local charity in keeping with the thanksgiving spirit. Over the next few days I will relay the dishes we end up cooking, but I thought that I would start with a veggieloaf. I had a few requests for a vegetarian main dish to go along with the turkey, that 'could be smothered in cranberry jelly'. So after consulting many recipes, I took my inspiration from a vegetable loaf with lentils, falafel, the chickpea and spiced patty, and Alton Brown's technique for meatloaf.
It sure looks good out of the oven and before the final glaze of the roasted red pepper sauce (see below) and I will let you know how it tastes come Thursday!
Veggieloaf with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
For the Roasted Red Pepper Sauce:
4 red peppers, roasted & diced
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes, drained
4 cloves garlic
6 oz. silken tofu (170g)
2 tsp red wine vinegar
dash hot sauce
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
For the Lentil Loaf:
1 cup orange lentils
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
For the Lentil Loaf:
1 cup orange lentils
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 ½ cup vegetable broth
1 ½ cup vegetable broth
1 yellow onion, diced fine
1/2 red onion, diced fine
2 large stalks of celery, diced fine
3 large carrots, grated finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz. mushrooms, diced (110g)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. dark soy sauce
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
2 tsp cumin seeds, ground
2 large stalks of celery, diced fine
3 large carrots, grated finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz. mushrooms, diced (110g)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. dark soy sauce
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
2 tsp cumin seeds, ground
1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground
2 cloves, ground
dash hot sauce
dash hot sauce
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp. butter
1. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
1 tsp. butter
1. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Make the roasted red pepper sauce first by combining all the ingredients for the sauce in a blender or food processor and pureeing until smooth. Set aside.
3. Add lentils, chickpeas, black beans and broth to a saucepan and cook for 15 mins uncovered until the lentils have dissolved, the chickpeas are soft and most of the liquid evaporated. Start to mush most of the chickpeas and beans to thicken mixture. Allow to cool.
4. Saute the diced onions and celery until slightly browned. Add grated carrot and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the mushrooms and repeat. Finally add the garlic and cook for a further 2 mins. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.
5. Fold in 1/4 of the roasted red pepper sauce, the herbs, spices, salt, pepper and whisked eggs. Fold in the bean mix, then add the breadcrumbs. Transfer to the prepared loaf pan and dot with butter.
Bake for 45 minutes or until the loaf is firm and cooked through. Allow the loaf to cool for at least 5 minutes before turning out onto a tray lined with foil. Baste with another 1/4 of the roasted red pepper sauce and place back in the oven for 10 mins to form a crust. If eating straight away, allow to cool for a few minutes then slice, serving with the remaining roasted red pepper sauce on the side. Or wrap well in Aluminium foil and keep refrigerated. To reheat, place in a 350F (180C) oven for about 15 mins or until warmed through.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Breaking in Alice & Steve's new stove
What occasion could be better for the posting of my first recipes than the breaking in of a new stove? Alice and Steve have just bought a new house and had to replace the gas stove as it stopped working. So when Alice offered me the opportunity for really giving it a workout, I jumped at the chance. Not only was it a good excuse to cook something purely from the ingredients in her pantry and fridge, but it was gas, something I have been missing cooking with.
Alice's only constraint to the food that we cook was that it contain lots of vegetables, not a hard thing since Alice's fridge was full of great veggies. I also wanted to use something that I had never cooked before, Quinoa. We started by roasting lots of vegetables, including sweet potato, carrot, acorn squash and garlic, cut into half inch pieces and tossed in herbed olive oil. For the Quinoa, we were advised to treat it like cous cous, something that I do cook often. We cooked the Quinoa in half vegetable stock, half water, with a little white wine added for flavour. We then sauteed some onions, kale, oyster mushrooms and garlic, and tossed these with some toasted pine nuts, mint and the juice and zest of a lemon. This was added to the cooked Quinoa and seasoned well. The final touch was some toasted sourdough, rubbed with more garlic (there seemed to be a lot of garlic everywhere this time), smooshed with goats cheese and broiled until slightly browned.
As no good meal is complete without something sweet to end, I knocked up a banana and crystallized ginger, blueberry muffin & butter pudding. After sauteing some chopped banana and crystallized ginger in a little butter and placing it in a heatproof bowl, I topped it with slices of blueberry muffin that had been soaked in an egg custard. Finally, i sprinkled the top with raw sugar and baked for about twenty minutes.
So, the specific recipes:
Warm Quinoa Salad with Roast Vegetables and Goats Cheese Crostini
Serves 4
For the Warm Quinoa Salad
1 cup Quinoa, rinsed
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup water
2 tbsp white wine (optional)
1/2 tsp pinch salt
1 cup hot tea
6 dried apricots, sliced thin
1 tbsp butter
1 small onion, diced
4 leaves kale, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 large oyster mushrooms, sliced
1 small tomato, diced
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
8 leaves mint, chopped
1 lemon, juice and grated zest
Bring the stock, water, wine (if using) and salt to a boil. Add Quinoa, stir and reduce to a simmer. Cook until done and the liquid absorbed (about 15 mins but keep testing for doneness). Meanwhile rehydrate the dried apricot in the tea until plump, then use the tea for the next recipe. Saute the onion and kale in butter over medium heat. After slightly browned, add garlic and oyster mushrooms and saute for a few minutes. Add the chopped tomato, cook for a further minute and remove from heat. Add the pine nuts, mint and lemon juice and zest. When the Quinoa is cooked, stir in the vegetable mix.
For the roasted vegetables
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1 large sweet potato, 1/2 inch cubes
2 carrots, 1/2 inch lengths
8 cloves garlic
1 acorn squash, chopped into inch chunks with skin on
Mix the oil, vinegar, herbs and salt together in a large bowl. Toss the vegetables in the mix and arrange on a baking tray. Bake at 400F (210C) for about 30 mins or until tender.
For the goats cheese crostini
4 slices sourdough, sliced into thirds
1 clove garlic
4 oz goats cheese (100g)
Toast the sourdough slices under a broiler. Rub with garlic and smoosh with goats cheese. Broil for about a minute or until the cheese is slightly browned.
Banana and Crystallized Ginger, Blueberry Muffin & Butter Pudding
1 cup hot tea
1/4 cup raisins
1 tbsp butter
1 banana, sliced
2 tsp crystallized ginger, chopped fine.
2 tbsp conserve or marmalade (I used lime pear conserve)
1 blueberry muffin (or any other type of muffin), sliced
1 egg
100mL cream (3 oz)
2 tbsp raw sugar (or brown sugar)
Rehydrate the raisins in the hot tea until plump; discard tea. Saute the banana and ginger in the butter over medium heat for 1 minute or so. Add the conserve and cook for a further 30 seconds. Place in the bottom of a heatproof bowl with the raisins. In another bowl, whisk the egg and cream together. Submerge the slices of muffin in the custard mix then arrange on top of the banana. Pour any remaining custard mix over muffin slices, then sprinkle top with raw sugar. Bake at 350F (180C) for about 20 mins.
Alice's only constraint to the food that we cook was that it contain lots of vegetables, not a hard thing since Alice's fridge was full of great veggies. I also wanted to use something that I had never cooked before, Quinoa. We started by roasting lots of vegetables, including sweet potato, carrot, acorn squash and garlic, cut into half inch pieces and tossed in herbed olive oil. For the Quinoa, we were advised to treat it like cous cous, something that I do cook often. We cooked the Quinoa in half vegetable stock, half water, with a little white wine added for flavour. We then sauteed some onions, kale, oyster mushrooms and garlic, and tossed these with some toasted pine nuts, mint and the juice and zest of a lemon. This was added to the cooked Quinoa and seasoned well. The final touch was some toasted sourdough, rubbed with more garlic (there seemed to be a lot of garlic everywhere this time), smooshed with goats cheese and broiled until slightly browned.
As no good meal is complete without something sweet to end, I knocked up a banana and crystallized ginger, blueberry muffin & butter pudding. After sauteing some chopped banana and crystallized ginger in a little butter and placing it in a heatproof bowl, I topped it with slices of blueberry muffin that had been soaked in an egg custard. Finally, i sprinkled the top with raw sugar and baked for about twenty minutes.
So, the specific recipes:
Warm Quinoa Salad with Roast Vegetables and Goats Cheese Crostini
Serves 4
For the Warm Quinoa Salad
1 cup Quinoa, rinsed
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup water
2 tbsp white wine (optional)
1/2 tsp pinch salt
1 cup hot tea
6 dried apricots, sliced thin
1 tbsp butter
1 small onion, diced
4 leaves kale, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 large oyster mushrooms, sliced
1 small tomato, diced
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
8 leaves mint, chopped
1 lemon, juice and grated zest
Bring the stock, water, wine (if using) and salt to a boil. Add Quinoa, stir and reduce to a simmer. Cook until done and the liquid absorbed (about 15 mins but keep testing for doneness). Meanwhile rehydrate the dried apricot in the tea until plump, then use the tea for the next recipe. Saute the onion and kale in butter over medium heat. After slightly browned, add garlic and oyster mushrooms and saute for a few minutes. Add the chopped tomato, cook for a further minute and remove from heat. Add the pine nuts, mint and lemon juice and zest. When the Quinoa is cooked, stir in the vegetable mix.
For the roasted vegetables
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1 large sweet potato, 1/2 inch cubes
2 carrots, 1/2 inch lengths
8 cloves garlic
1 acorn squash, chopped into inch chunks with skin on
Mix the oil, vinegar, herbs and salt together in a large bowl. Toss the vegetables in the mix and arrange on a baking tray. Bake at 400F (210C) for about 30 mins or until tender.
For the goats cheese crostini
4 slices sourdough, sliced into thirds
1 clove garlic
4 oz goats cheese (100g)
Toast the sourdough slices under a broiler. Rub with garlic and smoosh with goats cheese. Broil for about a minute or until the cheese is slightly browned.
Banana and Crystallized Ginger, Blueberry Muffin & Butter Pudding
1 cup hot tea
1/4 cup raisins
1 tbsp butter
1 banana, sliced
2 tsp crystallized ginger, chopped fine.
2 tbsp conserve or marmalade (I used lime pear conserve)
1 blueberry muffin (or any other type of muffin), sliced
1 egg
100mL cream (3 oz)
2 tbsp raw sugar (or brown sugar)
Rehydrate the raisins in the hot tea until plump; discard tea. Saute the banana and ginger in the butter over medium heat for 1 minute or so. Add the conserve and cook for a further 30 seconds. Place in the bottom of a heatproof bowl with the raisins. In another bowl, whisk the egg and cream together. Submerge the slices of muffin in the custard mix then arrange on top of the banana. Pour any remaining custard mix over muffin slices, then sprinkle top with raw sugar. Bake at 350F (180C) for about 20 mins.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Finally my first post...
Well, this is it. My first post in my own food blog. I set up the site about a week ago, and while there have been many thoughts and cooking exploits between now and then, I haven't got around to write until now.
As the blurb suggests, I am starting a food blog mainly to talk about food and cooking. Sure it will be a showcase of my adventures with food, both triumphs and failures, but I will also discuss something that has become very important to me, where food comes from.
To give an overview of who I am for the purposes of this blog, I am a 27 years old and currently reside in the middle of corn and soy fields in Indiana, USA. I am Australian however, and moving back there in a few months.
I have only been cooking since I left home and moved in with Gemma. Since then, I have both taught myself to cook, and discovered that it is a real passion. A place where both my analytical scientific mind and my creative flair can finally play nice :)
I am however also an engineer, or to be more precise an engineering educator. I have a bachelor in both engineering and science, and a PhD in engineering education. I am currently a postdoctoral researcher and will be taking up a position as a lecturer in engineering in April back in Australia.
This bog is an attempt at capturing my cooking exploits, both small (what's for dinner) and large. Those that know me know that I have a reputation for wanting to hold rather large parties where food features predominently. For example:
The whole pig we spitroasted for our going away party in Australia.
And the whole lamb we butchered (broke down) ourselves for the Aussie party we had in September.
I have also made my own bacon (pancetta actually), corned beef and mustard pickles to name a few things.
Anyway, I look forward to starting a conversation with you, and I do encourage you to write comments, make suggestions and offer your own views.
Cheers!
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