A delicious recipe I found on the Food Network website. I get lots of compliments on it every time I make it.
4 slices bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 leeks, rinsed well and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Roasted asparagus, chopped, about 4 cups
1 baking potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
6 cups reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup diced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (opt.)
Grated pecorino romano on top (opt.)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
Arrange bread cubes on prepared baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle cubes with parmesan cheese. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
While the croutons are baking, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, or until soft. Add bay leaves and thyme and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add asparagus, potato and broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium, partially cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until potato is fork tender. Remove bay leaves, and using an immersion blender, or a regular blender working in batches, puree soup until smooth. Ladle soup into bowls and top with sun-dried tomatoes and croutons.
My notes:
-Prepping the asparagus is the hard, time-consuming part. Once that's done, the rest is fast and easy. But who has 4 cups of roasted chopped asparagus on hand, I ask you? I roast my asparagus with olive oil, salt, and pepper. You can do this ahead of time and refrigerate it until you need it.
-I tried this recipe once when I didn't have fresh asparagus, so I used frozen asparagus and roasting that. It took less time because I didn't scrape off scales. I got fewer compliments on the soup. I won't do it again.
-For the croutons, I nix the cooking spray and use olive oil instead. Also, I use way more parmesan. And I usually use yummy Pugliese or other bread, because the better the bread, the better the croutons.
-If you break the bay leaves in half, and crush the thyme with your fingers, you get more herbal essence.
-This recipe says it makes 4 servings. That is true, if you are skimpy and no one dreams of having seconds. Long story short, I would 1 1/2 times the recipe for 4 real servings. But of course, if you're going to all this work and it's as delicious as I say it is, then you should just double or triple it and have leftovers.
The end.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
Smoked Turkey Salad from The Silver Palate Cookbook
This we also served at Matt and Jess's open house. Takes a bit of time to chop the cheese (of course, we made a huge amount).
Again, quoting right from the book:
This meat-cheese-and-fruit salad, with its nutty, sherry-flavored drssing, is a complete meal. Arrange individual servings on lettuce-lined plates, accompanied by black or whole-wheat bread and a glass of white wine or beer.
1 1/2 pounds smoked turkey (or cooked, lightly smoked ham or chicken), skinned
and cut into 2-inch julienne
3/4 pound Jarlsberg cheese, cut into similar julienne
2 cups seedless green or red grapes, washed and patted dry (and if they are
really bit, I would cut them in half)
1 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups Sherry Mayonnaise (recipe follows)
salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons water-packed green peppercorns, drained (I don't think
I was able to find these. At least it doesn't ring a bell. I wonder
how capers would taste here?)
Combine the turkey, Jarlsberg cheese, grapes, and celery in a mixing bowl.
Add the Sherry Mayonnaise and toss gently but well. Season to taste with salt and pepper and toss again. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
Arrange the salad in serving portions and sprinkle with the green peppercorns to taste.
6 portions
Sherry Mayonnaise
This richly flavored mayonnaise complements combinations like the Smoked Turkey Salad, but it is also delicious on such simple fare as a chicken sandwich on white bread. We have also served it as a dip for crudites with great success.
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon prepared Dijon-style mustard
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
2 cups corn oil
Combine the whole egg, egg yolks, mustard, and vinegar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Process for 1 minute.
With the motor still running, dribble in the oil in a slow steady stream.
When oil is completely incorporated, shut off machine, scrape down sides of bowl, taste mayonnaise and correct seasoning. Transfer to storage container, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.
2 1/2 cups
Note: When I first made this, locating sherry vinegar required a trip to a specialty store. If you use another kind of vinegar, it might be good, but it will not be the same as you remember.
Again, quoting right from the book:
This meat-cheese-and-fruit salad, with its nutty, sherry-flavored drssing, is a complete meal. Arrange individual servings on lettuce-lined plates, accompanied by black or whole-wheat bread and a glass of white wine or beer.
1 1/2 pounds smoked turkey (or cooked, lightly smoked ham or chicken), skinned
and cut into 2-inch julienne
3/4 pound Jarlsberg cheese, cut into similar julienne
2 cups seedless green or red grapes, washed and patted dry (and if they are
really bit, I would cut them in half)
1 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups Sherry Mayonnaise (recipe follows)
salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons water-packed green peppercorns, drained (I don't think
I was able to find these. At least it doesn't ring a bell. I wonder
how capers would taste here?)
Combine the turkey, Jarlsberg cheese, grapes, and celery in a mixing bowl.
Add the Sherry Mayonnaise and toss gently but well. Season to taste with salt and pepper and toss again. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
Arrange the salad in serving portions and sprinkle with the green peppercorns to taste.
6 portions
Sherry Mayonnaise
This richly flavored mayonnaise complements combinations like the Smoked Turkey Salad, but it is also delicious on such simple fare as a chicken sandwich on white bread. We have also served it as a dip for crudites with great success.
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon prepared Dijon-style mustard
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
salt and freshly-ground black pepper to taste
2 cups corn oil
Combine the whole egg, egg yolks, mustard, and vinegar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Process for 1 minute.
With the motor still running, dribble in the oil in a slow steady stream.
When oil is completely incorporated, shut off machine, scrape down sides of bowl, taste mayonnaise and correct seasoning. Transfer to storage container, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.
2 1/2 cups
Note: When I first made this, locating sherry vinegar required a trip to a specialty store. If you use another kind of vinegar, it might be good, but it will not be the same as you remember.
White Bean and Ham Salad from Matt & Jess's open house
This recipe is from The Silver Palate Cookbook and I will write it as it is written there:
Serve this charcuterie salad with tart cornishons and whole wheat or black bread. A wonderful autumn or winter lunch, perfect on a picnic. A good dark beer would be especially appropriate here. (Well, maybe you don't need that piece of information, but maybe we get outside viewers to our blog who would like to know that.)
1 pound Great Northern or other dried white beans
salt, to taste
1 to 2 cups Garlic-Mustard dressing
1 medium purple onion, peeled and sliced paper-thin
1 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 pound cooked ham, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
salt and freshly-ground blac pepper, to taste
1 cup best-quality imported black olives (Kalamata or Alfonso) (garnish)
Rinse and sort through the beans, discarding any pebbles, and soak them overnight in water that covers them by at least 3 inches.
Drain beans and transfer them to a kettle. Add cold water to cover the beans by at least 1 inch. Set over moderate heat. Bring to boil, skimming off any scum that may form, and cook beans until tender, about 40 minutes, salting to taste after 30 minutes. Cooking times will vary. It is important not to overcook the beans.
Drain beans, transfer them immediately to a mixing bowl, and pour 1 cup of the garlic-mustard dressing over the still-hot beans.
Add the onion, parsley and ham, season to taste with salt and pepper, and toss again. Cover and refrigerate.
To serve, allow salad to return to room temperature. Toss again, correct seasoning (add more dressing if you like), and garnish with the black olives.
6 to 8 portions
Garlic-Mustard Dressing
1 egg
1/3 cup prepared Dijon mustard
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 cups best-quality imported olive oil
Combine the egg, mustard and vinegar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Season to tastse with the salt and pepper and process for 1 minute.
With the motor still running, drop the garlic cloves tshrough the feed tube. Then begin dribbling in the olive oil in a slow steady stream. (But if you have a Cuisinart, you can just fill up the plunger that lives in the top of the lid -- it has a tiny hole and will let the oil drizzle in at an appropriate speed. I LOVE this feature.)
When all the oil is incorporated, shut off motor, taste, and correct seasoning (the dressing should be very garlicky).
Transfer to storage container and refrigerate until ready to use.
3 cups
Notes: It took me considerably longer than 40 minutes to get the beans tender. Old beans take longer that fresher beans, and I'm sure they cook quicker at low altitude levels than they do here in the mountains. I would look around the web for ideas about how to get your beans cooked just right. You don't want them to be mushy, but you DEFINITELY don't want them to be not soft. If you try to make them al dente, let me assure you you will regret it and probably during the night.
You may be able to find cornishons in a well-stocked grocery store. They are perfect with this, but in a pinch I'd go with a good dill pickle.
I can't remember what kinds of olives I used. You should be able to find Kalamata in a good grocery store. It's worth your while to develop a taste for imported olives. When Emma was two (she of the "May I have some more quiche and tabouleh, please?" fame) and I don't know how long before or after, I used to get some prepared yummies at a now-defunct place called The Upper Place on Foothill. Was it in the tabouleh that I first had my first really good olive? I wanted to spit it out, it was so foreign to our bland American Black Pearls or whatever. But I kept trying them and eventually learned that they are really yummy. But there is a learning curve here. There are brined olives and others that I think are kept in salt for a long time. The latter are the really pungent ones.
We really need to work on overcoming our food biases. We went to a Mediterranean restaurant with Joyce and Merrill a couple of months ago, and I assured everyone they would love the baba ganoush. But Merrill (and I didn't know he was so provincial) said that what was "smoky" to me was "burnt-tasting" to him. Imagine! How could ANYbody not love my precious baba?
I probably used the whole second cup of dressing.
Serve this charcuterie salad with tart cornishons and whole wheat or black bread. A wonderful autumn or winter lunch, perfect on a picnic. A good dark beer would be especially appropriate here. (Well, maybe you don't need that piece of information, but maybe we get outside viewers to our blog who would like to know that.)
1 pound Great Northern or other dried white beans
salt, to taste
1 to 2 cups Garlic-Mustard dressing
1 medium purple onion, peeled and sliced paper-thin
1 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 pound cooked ham, trimmed and cut into 1-inch cubes
salt and freshly-ground blac pepper, to taste
1 cup best-quality imported black olives (Kalamata or Alfonso) (garnish)
Rinse and sort through the beans, discarding any pebbles, and soak them overnight in water that covers them by at least 3 inches.
Drain beans and transfer them to a kettle. Add cold water to cover the beans by at least 1 inch. Set over moderate heat. Bring to boil, skimming off any scum that may form, and cook beans until tender, about 40 minutes, salting to taste after 30 minutes. Cooking times will vary. It is important not to overcook the beans.
Drain beans, transfer them immediately to a mixing bowl, and pour 1 cup of the garlic-mustard dressing over the still-hot beans.
Add the onion, parsley and ham, season to taste with salt and pepper, and toss again. Cover and refrigerate.
To serve, allow salad to return to room temperature. Toss again, correct seasoning (add more dressing if you like), and garnish with the black olives.
6 to 8 portions
Garlic-Mustard Dressing
1 egg
1/3 cup prepared Dijon mustard
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 cups best-quality imported olive oil
Combine the egg, mustard and vinegar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Season to tastse with the salt and pepper and process for 1 minute.
With the motor still running, drop the garlic cloves tshrough the feed tube. Then begin dribbling in the olive oil in a slow steady stream. (But if you have a Cuisinart, you can just fill up the plunger that lives in the top of the lid -- it has a tiny hole and will let the oil drizzle in at an appropriate speed. I LOVE this feature.)
When all the oil is incorporated, shut off motor, taste, and correct seasoning (the dressing should be very garlicky).
Transfer to storage container and refrigerate until ready to use.
3 cups
Notes: It took me considerably longer than 40 minutes to get the beans tender. Old beans take longer that fresher beans, and I'm sure they cook quicker at low altitude levels than they do here in the mountains. I would look around the web for ideas about how to get your beans cooked just right. You don't want them to be mushy, but you DEFINITELY don't want them to be not soft. If you try to make them al dente, let me assure you you will regret it and probably during the night.
You may be able to find cornishons in a well-stocked grocery store. They are perfect with this, but in a pinch I'd go with a good dill pickle.
I can't remember what kinds of olives I used. You should be able to find Kalamata in a good grocery store. It's worth your while to develop a taste for imported olives. When Emma was two (she of the "May I have some more quiche and tabouleh, please?" fame) and I don't know how long before or after, I used to get some prepared yummies at a now-defunct place called The Upper Place on Foothill. Was it in the tabouleh that I first had my first really good olive? I wanted to spit it out, it was so foreign to our bland American Black Pearls or whatever. But I kept trying them and eventually learned that they are really yummy. But there is a learning curve here. There are brined olives and others that I think are kept in salt for a long time. The latter are the really pungent ones.
We really need to work on overcoming our food biases. We went to a Mediterranean restaurant with Joyce and Merrill a couple of months ago, and I assured everyone they would love the baba ganoush. But Merrill (and I didn't know he was so provincial) said that what was "smoky" to me was "burnt-tasting" to him. Imagine! How could ANYbody not love my precious baba?
I probably used the whole second cup of dressing.
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