Mushroom, Leek & Fontina Frittata

Mushroom, Leek & Fontina Frittata 

Serves: 6

Mushroom, Leek & Fontina Frittata 

Who doesn’t love a frittata! It is so easy to make, so nutritious and healthy – and takes only 30 minutes to prepare and another 30 minutes to bake. Frittatas are excellent served warm or at room temperature - which means this meatless entrée is a perfect do-ahead dish. They were great for a brunch shower I hosted last month and so perfect for feeding a large group. They’re inexpensive, easy to make, go well with baked goods, maybe a simple salad, fruit and mimosas. Am I selling you on my shower menu?

Frittatas are very forgiving. Use this recipe as your launching pad to so many variations.  I used Fontina cheese this time but could have easily substituted Asiago, Pecorino Romano, Cheddar or Goat for the rather mild Fontina. A sprinkling of Parmesan on top adds an additional flavor boost.

• 2 Tb olive oil, divided
• 2 med leeks, while & pale green parts only, cleaned and chopped
• 8 oz crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced
• 12 large eggs
• Sriracha Chili Sauce – to taste (optional)
• ½ C crème fraiche or sour cream
• 2 Tb coarsely chopped parsley
• ¾ C shredded Fontina cheese, divided
• ¼ C grated Parmesan cheese
• Kosher Salt
• Freshly ground pepper 

Place a rack in upper third of your oven; preheat to 350 degree F. Meanwhile heat 1 Tb olive oil in a 10” nonstick ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add cleaned, chopped leeks; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Clean all mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Mushrooms should never be submerged in water.  They are extremely porous and soak up water like a sponge. Be aware that the salt releases the water from the mushrooms so never add salt until they are finished sautéing, as the additional water will steam rather than sauté them. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until softened and all liquid has evaporated, 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

 

Crimini mushrooms

Sliced and read to go with the leeks

Sauteed to perfection!

Meanwhile, whisk eggs, crème fraiche, parsley and Sriracha sauce in a large bowl; mix in ½ C Fontina cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Increase the heat to medium-high and add remaining 1 Tb olive oil to the skillet. Pour the egg mixture over the mushrooms, shaking the pan to evenly distribute mixture. Cook the frittata, without stirring, until its edges begin to set and lightly brown, about 5 minutes.

Eggs and the key ingredients

Mmmmmm.....can you smell the aromas?

Sprinkle remaining ¼ C Fontina cheese and ¼ C Parmesan cheese over eggs and transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake frittata until golden brown and center is set, 20-25 minutes.

Of course this is perfect with champagne, or mimosas, or anything with champagne. There is nothing quite like a bit of bubbly with eggs…really. But, then a fruity Zinfandel is also great if no bubbly can be found.  I would serve with an arugula salad – dressed with just a touch of wonderful olive oil and squeeze of fresh lemon juice.  We love our eggs with hot sauce – so keep that on hand as well.

Larue 

Apricot, Pecan & Cinnamon Chewies

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Apricot, Pecan & Cinnamon Chewies

Makes about 40 chews

Apricot, Pecan & Cinnamon Chewies 

Sanders & Rachel had a wonderful baby girl a whole month ago. They surely must be out of casseroles by now and need a tasty delight delivered – Larue to the rescue with apricot, pecan & cinnamon chewies. They are so darn good – much better than their name implies – and also a little bit chewy. But, not the chewiness that sucks the fillings out of your molars but the kind that gives crunch as well as slightly sticky ooze. Perfect! They can be made in literally 1 hour, including the 30 minutes of cooking.  Apologies once again for the ridiculous simplicity of this goodie.

The Fixins' for the Chewies

• 6 oz dried apricots, chopped
• 1 C orange juice
• ¼ C sugar
• 2½ C yellow cake mix (not with pudding)
• ½ C (1 stick) butter
• 5 Tb of mix of cinnamon/sugar  (ratio approximately 5:1)
• 14 oz sweetened condensed milk
• 1 C toasted chopped pecans
• Powdered sugar

In a saucepan, gently simmer together apricots, orange juice and sugar until the apricots are soft. Drain the apricots and set aside.  Reserve the orange juice for another use – perhaps a cocktail?

In a 9 x 13 inch glass pan, melt the butter and spread evenly. Sprinkle the cake mix evenly over the butter and pat down with a fork. Sprinkle the chopped apricots on top, and then the pecans and finally the cinnamon/sugar mix. Lastly drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over all.

 

Butter and cake mix

Adding the apricots and pecans

....and the condensed milk

Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Allow to cool and cut into squares. Sprinkle the top with a dusting of powdered sugar and enjoy. 

Cook until it is browned....then enjoy!

As an added advantage – this freezes beautifully. Try it next time you need a quick and simple scrumptious dessert. You will not be disappointed.

Larue

Soup duo: Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup & Roasted Tomato Soup with Serrano Cream

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Soup duo:

Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup & Roasted Tomato Soup with Serrano Cream

Serves: 6

Soup duo: Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup & Roasted Tomato Soup with Serrano Cream

It is hard to believe...but this is my 100th post! It has been great fun and a constant challenge to come up with interesting and tasty delights. But for my centennial recipe, I wanted to do something special....a soup recipe that will amaze your guests and family!

I will not try to convince you that this “soup duo” is a mid week meal. But for that special time, that special dinner – this is one that will knock their socks off. Truly, it is a showstopper. Neither soup is difficult or time consuming alone, but you have to make two. Serve it with simpler entrée – like steak or fish, so you will have time for this sensation. The most important aspect is getting the consistency of both soups to be the same so when you simultaneously pour them into a bowl they remain separate. My friend Susan provided this amazing recipe several years ago…I have made dozens of times since to consistently rave reviews. It is not difficult but given that you make two distinct soups – it does take some time. Gratefully, both can easily be done well in advance.

To decrease the suspense....here is how to pour the two soups into the bowl

For the pepper soup:

• 3 Tb finely chopped shallots
• ½ tsp dried thyme, crumbled
• 1 Tb unsalted butter
• 6 yellow peppers, roasted and coarsely chopped (about 6 C.)
• 1½ C low salt chicken or veggie broth plus additional to thin soup if necessary
• ¼ C heavy cream
• Fresh lemon juice to taste
• Salt & pepper

For the tomato soup:

• 3 lbs. plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
• 3 unpeeled large garlic cloves
• 3 Tb finely chopped shallots
• ½ tsp dried oregano, crumbled
• 1 Tb unsalted butter
• 1½ C low salt chicken or veggie broth plus additional to thin soup if necessary
• ¼ C heavy cream
• Fresh lemon juice to taste
• Salt & pepper

For the Serrano cream:

• 3-4 fresh Serrano chilies or jalapenos, seeded and chopped fine
• 1 large garlic clove, minced & mashed to a paste with 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ C crème fraiche or sour cream

Make the pepper soup: To roast the peppers, use a long handled fork and char peppers over an open flame until skins are blackened on all sides. Putting them under a broiler will achieve the same result and can be easier unless you have a very hot flame. The goal here is near total carbonization of the exterior. As it heats, the liquid just under the surface converts to steam, forcing the skin outwards and away from the flesh. This small area of air and water vapor just under the skin insulates the flesh underneath, preventing it from burning.

Roasting the peppers. They should be almost totally black when done

After the peppers are completely blackened, transfer to a bowl, cover with saran 10-15 minutes. The loosened peel slips right off, leaving the flesh clean and un-charred, but infused with deep smoky flavor from the blackened skin. Avoid using water to remove the peel, as it will dilute the wonderful flavor of the roasted pepper. Seed and coarsely chop the peppers.

The charred skin should just fall off

In a heavy saucepan cook the shallots, thyme, salt and pepper to taste in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until shallots are soft but not browned. Add the coarse chopped peppers and broth and simmer the mixture, covered, for 12-15 minutes, or until the peppers are very soft.  

Juicy, roasted peppers ready for making a puree

In a blender puree the soup in batches until it is smooth, forcing it as it is pureed through a fine sieve set over a pan. Alternatively, one could use a food mill as I have done and bypass the sieve part. 

Food mill. See below for a pic of how it works

Food mills were popular with our grandmothers but were pushed aside as electric food processors and blenders appeared on the scene. Yet neither of those fancy contraptions can perform quite like a food mill, which is a cross between a food processor and a sieve. You turn the handle and an angled blade presses the contents of the mill through a perforated disk, keeping any pesky remnants like seeds or skin safely out of your puree. Unlike a food processor or blender, however, a food mill does not incorporate air into the puree, thereby altering its texture. The result is a denser puree. Once done, whisk in the cream, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.

The Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup

Make the tomato soup: Spread the tomatoes, skin side down, in one layer in 2 foil-lined jelly roll pans, add the garlic to one of the pans, and bake the tomatoes and garlic in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 45 min to 1 hour, or until tomatoes are very soft and their skin is brown. Let the tomatoes and garlic cool. 

Spread the tomatoes skin side down

Roasted tomatoes

In a heavy saucepan, cook the shallots and oregano in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until shallots are soft but not browned. Add the tomatoes, garlic (skins discarded), and broth and simmer the mixture, covered for 15 minutes. Proceed as above for pepper soup using a blender and sieve or food mill. 

Food mill at work. Note husband dutifully turning the crank.

Once done, whisk in cream and lemon juice, and the salt and pepper to taste. Both soups should have the same consistency. Add additional broth to achieve that. Both soups can be made one day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated before serving.

The Roasted Tomato Soup

Make the Serrano cream: In a blender, blend together the chilies, the garlic paste and the crème fraiche until the mixture is combined well. Be careful to not over blend or the cream may curdle. Force the mixture through a fine sieve set over a bowl.  The Serrano cream may be made one day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and brought to room temperature before serving.

Removing seeds from the chili

To serve the soup: For each serving, ladle ½ C of each soup into 2 glass measuring cups, pour the soups simultaneously into a shallow soup bowl from opposite sides of the bowl, and drizzle some of the Serrano cream over each serving. Feel free to get decorative in the addition of the Serrano cream….we served this last on St. Patrick’s Day…hence the picture. Many thanks to Kerri for her help in these pics.

Kerri adding a St. Pattie's Serrano cream sauce

Plan ahead – remember to make an easy entrée – and make the soups the day before…then this is very doable and will make quite the impression at your next dinner party. You will love the vibrant flavors of the peppers, tomatoes with a hint of heat from the chilies. It’s an amazing taste combo worthy of the gorgeous presentation.

Bon Appetit

Larue

Cauliflower & Chickpea Salad with Curried Vinaigrette

Cauliflower & Chickpea Salad with Curried Vinaigrette

Serves: 6

Cauliflower & Chickpea Salad with Curried Vinaigrette

Yes, this one is time consuming. You might – as I did – assume that any recipe written by the likes of Thomas Keller is completely out of reach of us mere mortals. I’ve been eyeing this salad of chickpeas and curried cauliflower for as long as I’ve had the Ad Hoc at Home cookbook. It looks so fresh and colorful, like something I would totally make. Cauliflower and hearty chickpeas, tossed with an abundance of plumped raisins, black olives, pickled red onions, julienned endive and toasted pine nuts are then seasoned with a curried vinaigrette. Spanish olives are oil-cured black olives, slightly bitter and salty, with a puckered appearance from the cure. All of the component parts can be used in so many additional dishes and meals.  So it is like preparing for one awesome salad while creating flavors for a dozen or more other dishes. The flavors independently and together are memorable. There is nothing difficult about preparing this salad; it just takes a little planning and time.  The chickpeas can be made three days in advance and wine steeped raisins and pickled onions keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.

My planning suggestions: On day one, I started soaking the chickpeas. On day two, I cooked the chickpeas and prepared the wine steeped raisins and picked red onions. On day three, I finished preparing the other ingredients and served the salad. BE SURE TO READ THROUGH ENTIRE RECIPE(S) A COUPLE OF TIMES and plan your preparation accordingly (print it using the “Printer Friendly button at the end of the recipe). Pull this one out of your hat for a dinner party, lavish buffet, or gourmet picnic and you will be a star.  I served this at Rachel’s bridal shower – along with Amazingly Simple Spicy Chilled Cucumber Soup – which is, as the name implies, super simple and  posted last week.

For the chickpeas:

• 1 C (about 6 oz) dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 1 sachet (3 thyme sprigs, 1 bay leaf, 10 black peppercorns, 1 smashed garlic, wrapped in cheesecloth and tied, OR, as I did – put all in a large tea infuser)
• ½ medium carrot, split lengthwise
• 1 medium leek, (white and light green parts only), split lengthwise and washed
• A 1-inch wedge of yellow onion, with root end intact
• 1 Tb red wine vinegar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

For the cauliflower:

• 1 medium head (about 2 pounds) cauliflower
• Kosher salt
• 1 Tb distilled white vinegar 

For rest of the salad:

• ¼ C pine nuts, lightly toasted and sprinkled with kosher salt
• 5 ounces (1-2 heads) green Belgium endive
• 5 ounces (1-2 heads) red Belgium endive
• 4 ounces (about ¾ C) pitted oil-cured Spanish black olives
• ½ C pickled red onions (see ingredients and recipe below)
• ¼ - ½ C wine-steeped golden raisins (see ingredients and recipe below)
• 1 Tb minced chives (divided)
• Curry Vinaigrette (see ingredients and recipe below)
• Freshly ground black pepper 

Chickpeas:

Put dried chickpeas in a large bowl, cover with 4 C water and let soak for 12 hours or overnight. Drain the soaked chickpeas and put into a medium saucepan. Cover the chickpeas with cold water so that the water is about 2 inches above the chickpeas.  Add the carrot, leek, onion and sachet. Bring water to a gentle simmer and cook chickpeas for about 30-40 minutes until the chickpeas are tender. Transfer the chickpeas and their liquid to a bowl, remove the sachet and vegetables, stir in the vinegar, season with salt and pepper to taste.  The chickpeas can be refrigerated in their liquid for up to three days.

 

Dried chickpeas

Soak those chickpeas!

Wine-steeped golden raisins:

• 1 C golden raisins
• ¼ star anise
• 1 whole clove
• ½ C dry white wine – I used Sauvignon Blanc

Combine the raisins, star anise and clove in a jar. Bring the wine to a boil in a small saucepan; pour over the raisins, and let cool to room temperature. Let stand for 30 minutes or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 month. Remove the star anise and clove before serving. Extra raisins are great on other salads or sprinkled on and around grilled fish.

 

Soaking the raisons

Pickled red onions:

• 2 large red onions (about 1¼ lbs each)
• 1 ½ C red wine vinegar
• ¾ C granulated sugar

Cut off the top and bottom of each onion and cut lengthwise in half.  Remove and discard the outer layer. Cut a V-shaped wedge from the bottom of each half to remove the roots and the very centerpieces of onion. Place the onion cut side down and slice lengthwise into 1/8 inch thick slices following the natural lines of the onion. Pack the onion slices into a 1-quart canning jar or other suitable container that can be covered. Combine the vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the hot vinegar over the onion slices and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, or for up to one month. These sweet and crunchy onions are amazing on sandwiches, on top of omelets and in other salads.

 

Cut onions

Onions in the vinegar

Cauliflower: 

Cut out the core of the cauliflower and remove the leaves. Cut the cauliflower into florets and trim the stems.  The florets should not be larger than a 50-cent piece or smaller than a quarter. In a large saucepan, bring 8 C of salted water to a rapid boil.  Add the vinegar and cauliflower, and cook for 4-5 minutes, until tender but not at all mushy. Lift out florets with a slotted spoon and spread on a tray to cool, then refrigerate until ready to use.

Curry Vinaigrette:

• 2 tsp Madras curry powder
• ½ C champagne vinegar
• 1½ C canola oil
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Spread the curry powder in a small pan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant (about 5-10 min). Whisk together the vinegar and curry powder in a bowl, whisk in oil and stir in garlic and season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate in a covered container for up to two weeks.  This vinaigrette works well on many salads as well as a quick marinade for fish or chicken.

 

Curry vinaigrette

Preparing and assembling the Final Salad:

Cut off about ¼ inch of the bottom of each endive and remove the leaves that start to fall away from the core. Cut away a bit more of the base and continue to remove leaves until you reach the core. Stack the leaves a few at a time on a cutting board, with the outside facing up, and cut on a 45-degree angle into thin slices. Put the sliced endive in a bowl of ice water for 10 minutes to help prevent it from turning brown and to crisp it. Drain and dry in a salad spinner.

Beautiful crunch and color from endive

Put the cauliflower and endive in a large bowl and add the olives, pickled onions, pine nuts, raisins and 2 tsp of chives. Toss with ¼ C of the curried dressing, and then season with a sprinkling of salt and few grinds of fresh black pepper.

Amazing mix of colors, textures and tastes

Drain the chickpeas, add to the salad, and toss with another ¼ C curried dressing. Taste the salad and add additional dressing if needed.

Arrange the salad on a serving platter. Scatter the remaining 1 tsp of chives and serve to accolades.  Enjoy the leftover components – the raisins, the pickled red onions and the dressing in many more meals. The reward is an incredibly stunning and flavorful salad filled with healthy ingredients, all of which have been individually pampered and lovingly seasoned. Take your time, and give it a try – you will not be disappointed.

Larue

Adapted from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home Cookbook