It's definitely fall here in Boston. If you couldn't tell from the pretty leaves, or the chilly nights (and, lately, chilly days), you can definitely tell from the farmer's markets. Apples, squashes, dark green leafy vegetables, and tall stalks of Brussels sprouts have almost totally replaced the tomatoes, corn, and summer fruit. Last year was my first fall in New England in seven years, and although "autumnal" has been my favorite word for a long time, I had forgotten how wonderful it was to actually experience a real fall (no offense to St. Louis or DC).
Last week I picked up a big butternut squash at the Brookline farmer's market, and last night I cut it up and roasted it. It was delicious. Bright yellow, tender skin (it's edible), almost custardy if you are patient enough to let the pieces roast and get brown underneath. Today I had some of the leftovers for lunch. Then I went over to the Harvard Cambridge campus, where the campus was celebrating its environmental initiatives (there were banners everywhere that said "Green is the new crimson") and Al Gore was speaking. It was cold and drizzly and pretty nasty outside, but the school had made a big effort to make everything eco-friendly and fall-like. They were serving delicata squash bisque, which was made from squash from local farmers, and tasted like it had some apples in it. It was pretty good, especially considering that it was prepared for several thousand people and served out of vats. Oh, and Al Gore was amazing. I get so sad every time I think about what a great President he could (should) have been. But then I look at all he's done once he started following his true passion, and I am just so proud of him and awed at what he's accomplished. However, I forgot that he can be a wee bit boring, even when he's talking about climate change. He got in some good political jabs though.
The downside of this event is that it took place in Harvard Yard, and after sitting out in the cold and drizzle and wind for an hour and a half wearing a fleece and no hat or gloves, I was so cold. All I could think about was coming home, making tea, and having something cozy for dinner. Once I got home, I didn't feel like going through the trouble of making soup, and I was NOT about to go outside again to get dinner supplies. I was about to start the cookbook flip-through when I remembered that I had half a can of pumpkin left over from a mediocre variation on pumpkin pasta that I made the other night. In a burst of inspiration, I played around with one of my favorite family recipes ever--butternut squash souffle--and came up with my own riff on it. It's basically an excuse to eat pumpkin pie for dinner. I seared a few apple chicken sausages to go with it...mmm.
And that's the story of how I got more beta carotene in one day than I have in probably the past month combined.
PUMPKIN SOUFFLE
Serves four as a side dish, easily doubled. Or eat half of it and call it dinner. Or breakfast. Or dessert.
1/2 can pumpkin puree (about a cup)
1/4 cup sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons maple syrup (Grade B is super maple-y and delicious)
1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 eggs, beaten
Dash each of cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt
Splash of vanilla (optional)
3/4 cup 2% milk
Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients except milk and beat well. Add milk slowly. Pour into greased 8x8 pan or small souffle dish. Bake for about 45-50 minutes, until center is set. Let cool a few minutes before serving.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Expanding my culinary horizons
As I have probably told most of you, I became decidedly un-vegetarian in Paris. There was too much good chicken, lamb, duck, and (my favorite of all) cured pork to not taste it. Eating is such a huge part of the culture, and I didn't want to miss out on it. I had been vegetarian for 15 years, but it was quite easy to adjust to being able to order anything on the menu and really taste the local specialties. For example, in Burgundy I had escargot, coq au vin, and boeuf borgogne (I tasted Anna's--I'm still a little squeamish about beef). Suffice it to say that, after such an amazing gastronomic experience, it was hard to go back to go back to, say, a grilled cheese sandwich without thinking, "Wow, some cured pork would be make this really amazing!"
I decided a few things: I would eat mostly free-range, organic, or vegetarian-fed meat, and if I was going to eat meat I was going to cook it too--I had to be able to face the reality of what I was eating, instead of only seeing it all prettied up on a plate. I have cooked chicken twice now, and both times it's been pretty good (I like dark meat much better--it's much less likely to be dry). The first time I got drumsticks and I tried to skin them myself, which was a huge mess and a lot of work for not much reward. This time I got a bag of frozen, boneless, skinless chicken thighs, and pieced together a few recipes (from Cook's Illustrated and something I cut out of a magazine several years ago) plus a whole bunch of fiddling around to make a really good dinner. If you want to try it (it was very fast and easy, and would probably be good with chicken breasts too), here's what I did:
CHICKEN THIGHS WITH BALSAMIC-ONION PAN SAUCE
Chicken:
2 to 4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, depending on how many ppl are eating
1/4 cup or so of white whole wheat flour, or any other kind of flour
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Preheat the oven to 200 and put a plate in the oven to warm. Trim fat from chicken and pat dry. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken and dredge in the flour, shaking off excess. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until smoking, and add chicken. Turn with tongs after four minutes or so and cook the other side for another 4-5 minutes, until it's not pink anymore when you cut it open. Put the chicken on the warmed plate and keep it in the oven while you make the sauce.
Sauce:
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Don't wash the frying pan after you take out the chicken, and keep the heat on medium. Add the onion and saute in the pan drippings from the chicken for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the chicken stock and vinegar (I learned this is called "deglazing"), increase the heat to medium-high, and simmer until the volume is reduced by half--this took about 10-15 minutes. Swirl in the butter and salt and pepper (the butter makes a really big difference, I tasted it both ways--it takes the edge off the vinegar). Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve. Bon appetit!
I had braised kale with this, and the sauce from the chicken got all mixed up in the kale--so good! The perfect third element would have been some good bread to soak up all the juice.
I decided a few things: I would eat mostly free-range, organic, or vegetarian-fed meat, and if I was going to eat meat I was going to cook it too--I had to be able to face the reality of what I was eating, instead of only seeing it all prettied up on a plate. I have cooked chicken twice now, and both times it's been pretty good (I like dark meat much better--it's much less likely to be dry). The first time I got drumsticks and I tried to skin them myself, which was a huge mess and a lot of work for not much reward. This time I got a bag of frozen, boneless, skinless chicken thighs, and pieced together a few recipes (from Cook's Illustrated and something I cut out of a magazine several years ago) plus a whole bunch of fiddling around to make a really good dinner. If you want to try it (it was very fast and easy, and would probably be good with chicken breasts too), here's what I did:
CHICKEN THIGHS WITH BALSAMIC-ONION PAN SAUCE
Chicken:
2 to 4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, depending on how many ppl are eating
1/4 cup or so of white whole wheat flour, or any other kind of flour
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Preheat the oven to 200 and put a plate in the oven to warm. Trim fat from chicken and pat dry. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken and dredge in the flour, shaking off excess. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until smoking, and add chicken. Turn with tongs after four minutes or so and cook the other side for another 4-5 minutes, until it's not pink anymore when you cut it open. Put the chicken on the warmed plate and keep it in the oven while you make the sauce.
Sauce:
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Don't wash the frying pan after you take out the chicken, and keep the heat on medium. Add the onion and saute in the pan drippings from the chicken for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the chicken stock and vinegar (I learned this is called "deglazing"), increase the heat to medium-high, and simmer until the volume is reduced by half--this took about 10-15 minutes. Swirl in the butter and salt and pepper (the butter makes a really big difference, I tasted it both ways--it takes the edge off the vinegar). Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve. Bon appetit!
I had braised kale with this, and the sauce from the chicken got all mixed up in the kale--so good! The perfect third element would have been some good bread to soak up all the juice.
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