Grandma's Kitchen Table

IHCC: Tessa Kiros - Finnish Meatballs with Allspice, Sour Cream, and Lingonberries

 

      The theme for the 14th week of Tessa Kiros' recipes at I Heart Cooking Club was "Winter Wonderland"  More precisely, this is what was on the IHCC site for the week:  "now is the time for some serious comfort food." When I was searching for my recipe for this theme, I figured Tessa's Finnish background would surely net me a wonderful wintery type dish since Finland is often associated with thoughts of the winter season. 

      I came upon this Finnish Meatballs with Allspice, Sour Cream, and Lingonberries recipe and searched no further.  Meatballs are just a great way to serve up a little protein and depending on the saucing and spicing, they never get boring as there are so many things you can do with them.  And, of course, the guys here love meatballs.  I had made Swedish Meatballs before so I was curious how these would be different as many of the ingredients are the same.  Basically, they are the same thing. 

      These were easy to make (they go together very quickly, as does the sauce). I was a little skeptical of enjoying the additional berry sauce with the meat like this, but it works, it's really good so don't leave it out.  I like how she recommended serving just a bit on the side like this as that way you can just have a little in the bites you want and leave it out of the bites you don't.  Win. Win. 

      The recipe recommended serving it with boiled potatoes, but I had been wanting to try these little Fried Smashed Potatoes from Giada deLaurentiis, so I opted for those and a side of broccoli instead.  Good choices, Mark was very happy with the whole meal, and I would definitely make this and eat again as well.  This is definitely a repeat! 

Finnish Meatballs with Allspice, Sour Cream, and Lingonberries
Serves 4-6

(Recipe from Tessa Kiros in

Falling Cloudberries)

Ingredients:
3 slices of white bread
2/3 cup of milk
2-1/4 pounds mixed ground pork and beef
1 large egg
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoons ground allspice
4-1/2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
Lingonberry or Cranberry Jam (to serve)

Soak the bread in the milk in a large bowl for about 30 minutes, or until it has absorbed all the milk and is very soft.  Add the meat, egg, onion, allspice, and season with salt and pepper.  Knead together well with your hands, then form into small balls about the size of walnuts, rolling them between your palms so that they are compact and won't fall apart when cooking.

Heat 2-1/2 Tablespoons of the butter with the olive oil in a nonstick skillet.  Fry the meatballs in batches, turning them once during cooking.  (You will have to work quite quickly and take care not to burn the butter and oil.   If necessary, wipe out the skillet between batches and start again with a little less butter and oil.)  Transfer the cooked meatballs to heavy-bottomed saucepan with any onion that is on the bottom of the skillet and continue with the next batch.

Sprinkle the four into the skillet and mix with a wooden spoon until it is smooth.  Add the remaining butter and let it melt.  Continue cooking, stirring almost continuously, until it is a golden color.  Remove the pan from the heat and very slowly pour in 2 cups of hot water, standing back a bit.   Mix in quickly, then return the pan to the heat.  Stir in the sour cream and mix well, then carefully pour over the meatballs.  Season lightly with salt and pepper and cook, covered, over very low heat for 10-15 minutes, until you have a thick, creamy sauce with soft meatballs to serve with berry jam and boiled potatoes.

 

 

IHCC: Tessa Kiros - Baked Fish Parcels

 

      The theme for the 17th week of Tessa Kiros' recipes at I Heart Cooking Club was "White as Snow"  More precisely, this is what was on the IHCC site for the week:  "The view outside your kitchen window is white as snow..." well, yes, it is, definitely white snow out there when I was making this week's recipe. 

      In the Tessa Kiros book Apples for Jam, each chapter is divided into colors, which is quite fun actually when you look through it all.  Sometimes the theme at IHCC this rotation with Tessa Kiros has incorporated that theme by claiming a color for a certain week's selection.  This week the color was white.  I opened the book, each recipe looked worthy and I was wavering back and forth which one I would choose.  Until I got to this recipe:  Baked Fish Parcels.  All the other recipes receded from my mind as I knew this was the perfect one for me for white week, it wasn't until just now that I looked beyond that and saw that there were 5 more white recipes (all desserts) after this one. 

      I first fell in love with doing parchment packets when I was doing Whisk Wednesdays (remember the days when we were Whisk Chicks, Natashya?) and we were cooking French food from Le Cordon Bleu at Home...finding another parchment package recipe to try now interests me each and every time.  This recipe was a very nice one, takes very little time to assemble and bake, and the flavors are wonderful.  A couple of new things I learned from this recipe and will incorporate when I do packets in the future were first, Tessa has us take the rind off the lemon before placing the lemon slices on the fish in the parcel (a nice technique as you can eat the lemon with the fish this way unlike the other way I have done it, which was leave the rind on for baking and that lemon rind is not good to eat with the fish as it doesn't have enough time to cook thoroughly so it has a bitter flavor rather than a soft lemon taste), and the other thing I liked was the way that she directed us to slice the garlic and put it in as a slice rather than dicing it up (when the garlic finished cooking in the parcel it was soft and sweetly toasted garlic, very nice in bits with the fish).   This is definitely a repeat!  Often.

Baked Fish Parcels
Serves 4

(Recipe from Tessa Kiros in

Apples for Jam) 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of dry breadcrumbs
4 thick firm whitefish fillets (about 4 ounces each, bones removed)
salt
4 thick slices of lemon, rind removed
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
8 small thyme springs
5 Tablespoons of red wine

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut four pieces of aluminum foil or parchment paper quite a bit larger than your fish fillets. 
Put the bread crumbs on a plate and pat the fish in them to coat both sides.  Sprinkle the fish lightly with salt and put each fillet on a separate piece of foil.  Put a lemon slice on top, drizzle with a tablespoon of oil, and put a garlic clove half and 2 thyme springs on each.

Close up the parcels so that you will be able to open them easily.  Fold the top sides of the foil up and then fold or roll them down.  Fold in the ends to seal them.  Drizzle the rest of the oil over the bottom of your oven dish.  Put the fish parcels in the dish and bake for about 20 minutes.  You should be able to smell the cooked fish, but I usually gently open one parcel with a fork and spoon just to check that it is cooked and then seal it up again.  Wait for 3-4 minutes (so that the oil doesn't spit, then drizzle the wine into the dish and put it back into the oven.  When you start to hear activity from the oil, in about 3-4 minutes, remove the dish from the oven again.  The wine will have reduced to almost nothing, but adds a lovely perfume to the fish.  Serve the parcels immediately, unopened, helping children to open their packages and not get too close to the steam.

IHCC: Tessa Kiros - Soutzoukakia (Cumin Meatballs in Tomato)

 

      The theme for the 11th week of Tessa Kiros' recipes at I Heart Cooking Club was "A Study in Scarlet."  More precisely, this is what was on the IHCC site for the week:  "Red fruits and veggies are packed with antioxidants which help fight heart disease and cancer and could help reduce the risk for stroke and the leading cause of blindness in older people, macular degeneration.  Even lean red meats are a nutrient-dense protein and a source of iron, zinc, and minerals including vitamin B12, niacin, and vitamin B6." 

      My guys love red meat, no doubt about it, while they put up with chicken and fish and seafood nicely, if they are requesting things around here in the protein department, it is always red meat.  I didn't have any trouble finding a "red" recipe for this week's theme, not only with the red meat, but with the rich red tomato sauce that accompanies it.  Meatballs are a favorite and in Tessa's book Food From Many Greek Kitchens, I found a nice new take on the meatball using cumin in the mixture.  These were really good, different from what we normally have by way of meatballs, and are definitely on the list for things to make again.  Yep, a nice new take on an old favorite.

Soutzoukakia (Cumin Meatballs in Tomato)
Serves 4-6

(Recipe from Tessa Kiros in

Food From Many Greek Kitchens)

Ingredients:
3.5 ounces of crustless bread, about 3 slices, torn up
3/4 cup of milk
1 pound 9 ounces of ground beef
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 Tablespoons of chopped Italian parsley
3 garlic cloves, 1 whole, 2 finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
7 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 14-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine

Put the bread into a bowl, cover with the milk and leave it for about 10 minutes to soak and soften.

In another bowl put the beef, egg, cumin, parsley, chopped garlic, and season with salt and pepper.  Squeeze out excess milk from the bread and add the bread to the beef.  Mix in very well with a wooden spoon and then with your hands.  Form into meatballs of about 1-3/4 ounces each.  Line them up on a tray.

Heat 3 Tablespoons of the olive oil in a nonstick pot, add the whole clove of garlic, and when it begins to smell good, add the tomatoes.  Season with salt and a little pepper, put the lid on and simmer for 10 minutes or so, smoothing out any lumpy pieces.  Heat the remaining olive oil in a large nonstick skillet that has a lid.

Add the soutzoukakia (they should all just fit if you have a big skillet).  Cook until golden all over, gently turning them with tons or by flicking the pan sharply from your wrist if you can manage.  When they are nice and gently browned, add the wine and cook for 5-6 minutes on high heat, until it reduces.  Scrape the tomato sauce over the meatballs and bring it to a gentle boil.  Lower the heat slightly, put the lid on and simmer for about 20 minutes.  Shuffle the skillet once or twice to make sure nothing is sticking.  There should be a good amount of sauce at the end. 

Remove from the heat.  Leave with the lid on for a few minutes or so before serving.

IHCC: Tessa Kiros - Fasolada (White Bean Soup)

 

      The theme for the 10th week of Tessa Kiros' recipes at I Heart Cooking Club was "Bean There, Done That."  More precisely, this is what was on the IHCC site for the week:  "Beans offer good nutrition and body to a dish, and work magically with rice, corn, and other grains.  And Herbs love 'em.  Just ask them." 

      My favorite thing to do with beans is add them to soups, so this week's assignment had me flipping through the pages of my books looking for a good bean soup.  I found one...it's just full of all good things veggie, and beans, of course.  Everything retains it's own taste, which I love in a soup, and the little salad-like mix sprinkled on the top at the end really adds a nice touch: clean, crispy, and cool.  I am going to remember to do that little technique with some of the other soups that I make, it's just really nice.  Definitely a repeat...and it's very pretty, too.

Fasolada (White Bean Soup)
Serves 6

(Recipe from Tessa Kiros in Food From Many Greek Kitchens)

Ingredients:
1 pound 2 ounces dried butter (or cannellini, haricot, navy) beans
3 garlic cloves, 1 whole, 2 chopped
1 bay leaf
1 small celery rib
1/2 small onion
salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled, cut into nice chunks
14 ounce can chopped tomatoes
freshly ground black pepper
1-3/4 ounces red or green onions, coarsely chopped
1/2 very coarsely chopped Italian parsley
1/3 cup chopped celery leaves
best quality olive oil for serving

Cover the beans with plenty of cold water and soak overnight.  The next day, drain, and rinse them, and put into a pot with cold water to cover.  Bring to a boil, skimming off any scum that has formed.  Drain and rinse again.  Wipe any scum that has collected on the pot, then return the beans to it.

Add 8 cups of cold water, the whole garlic clove, bay leaf, celery rib and the 1/2 onion.  Simmer, partly covered, for about an hour, until tender.  Larger beans will take longer and will need more water.  Add salt in the last 20 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat and saute the chopped onion until soft and golden.  Add the chopped garlic and carrots and when the garlic smells good, add the tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Swish about 1/2 cup of water in the tomato can and pour into the pot.  Put the lid on and simmer for 10 minutes or so. 

When the beans are ready, pour them and their water in with the tomato sauce.  Simmer for 10 minutes, adding a little water if it's too thick.  Ladle into bowls and serve with red onion, parsley and celery leaves on top, a drizzle of oil and a grinding of pepper.

IHCC: Tessa Kiros - Baked Butternut With Butter and Sugar

 

      The theme for the 9th week of Tessa Kiros' recipes at I Heart Cooking Club was "Attitude of Gratitude."  More precisely, this is what was on the IHCC site for the week:  "Do certain foods come to mind when you think of a bountiful table?"  Back in the fall when I was searching for orange foods for the previous week's entry, I had another orange recipe favorite that I wanted to try so I decided I would make it for the bountiful table post so that I could try both recipes...and really, one cannot have too much orange food in one's diet from the nutritional standpoint alone, right?  Right.  I made only a partial recipe, and if one wanted to cut back on the butter and sugar a bit for moderation's sake and all, this would still be a very tasty squash dish.  Rich and delicious, it belongs on a bountiful table.   Definitely a repeat, easy enough for a weeknight.

Baked Butternut With Butter And Sugar
Serves 6

(Recipe from Tessa Kiros in Apples for Jam)

Ingredients:
3-1/2 Tablespoons of butter
2-1/4 pounds unpeeled butternut squash
1/4 cup light brown sugar
salt
4 Tablespoons of water
2 bay leaves

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and generously butter the bottom of a large round ovenproof dish (like 12").  Peel the butternut squash by first cutting it in half, then scooping out the seeds with a spoon. Cut the squash into long slices that are about an inch thick.  Using a small sharp knife, carefully cut away the skin, keeping the shape of the squash slices and taking care that you don't cut yourself, as the skin is hard.  You should have about 1-1/2 pounds of butternut.

Scatter some of the sugar over the bottom of the dish and then lay the butternut slices flat, in a single layer.  Scatter the rest of the sugar over the top, dot with the rest of the butter and sprinkle with a little salt.  Pour 4 Tablespoons of water around the side and add the bay leaves. 

Put into the oven for about 1 hour, or until the butternut is soft and golden, even dark in places, and there is some thick golden juice bubbling away at the bottom.  Spoon the pan juices over the squash a couple of times during the cooking -- if it looks a little too dry, add a dribble more water.  Serve warm.  If you aren't serving it immediately., then reheat gently so that the butter melts again.

IHCC: Tessa Kiros: Cream of Winter Squash Soup

 

      The theme for the 8th week of Tessa Kiros' recipes at I Heart Cooking Club was "Orange Skies."  More precisely, this is what was on the IHCC site for the week:  "We will be making any Tessa Kiros recipes where orange-hued ingredients are featured in either a starring role or as part of a strong supporting cast."

      I am always looking for excuses to make soup and I am always looking to try new variations of soups that I love.  Orange?  Great....Cream of Winter Squash Soup fits the criteria, hands down, I had my choice of recipe in short order.

      This is a very good butternut squash soup recipe.  The fresh chicken wing stock really makes a difference and brought a richness to the whole soup.  I will make this again.  One thing of note is that this is a very rich soup so a little goes a long way, make portions planning in that direction.  Might need to make this again soon as I think I used up all my portions in the freezer since I made it in October (life has gotten in the way of my posting but not cooking, hence the late posting of Week 8, oops, and thank you for your patience).  Definitely a repeat, orange food is so good for one...and so cheerful to look at while you are eating it! 

Cream of Winter Squash Soup
Serves 6

(Recipe from Tessa Kiros in Apples for Jam)

Ingredients:
2 large chicken wings
9 cups of cold water
1 carrot, peeled and halved
1 small leek, trimmed and halved
2 cloves of garlic, peeled but left whole
small bunch of parsley
3 thyme sprigs
7 peppercorns
salt
2-3/4 pounds of winter squash
1-1/2 Tablespoons of butter
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Put the chicken in a large saucepan with 9 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Skim the surface well and then add the carrot, leek, garlic, parsley, thyme, and peppercorns. Season with salt.  Bring it back to a boil, skimming off any more broth that comes to the surface.  Lower the heat, cover the pan, and simmer for about an hour.

Strain the broth into a clean pan. (You won't need any of the solids here, but some chicken can be picked off and the vegetables can be chopped up, stirred through some rice and served with parmesan.)

Peel and remove the seeds from the winter squash, then cut it up into smallish pieces.   You should have about 6 cups.  Heat the butter in a large nonstick frying pan and saute the squash over fairly high heat so that it turns quite golden in places and starts to get a little soft inside.  Tip it into the broth and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes until it is soft all the way through.  Puree with a handheld blender until it is completely smooth, and taste for salt.  Add the cream, whisking it in a bit, and heat through, or swirl a little cream through each bowl.  Serve with some brown bread and butter, and adults could add a small scattering of ground chili powder if they want.

IHCC: Tessa Kiros - Spanakorizo (Spinach Rice)

 

      The theme this 16th week of Tessa Kiros' recipes at I Heart Cooking Club is "Rice is Nice."  More precisely, this is what was on the IHCC site for the week:  "Rice is versatile.  There are many different kinds of rice to choose from. Different colors, textures, sizes, and tastes. A rice for everyone." 

      Matt and I love rice, Mark not so much.  He doesn't hate it, and he will eat it, but he would rather have a potato or pasta than rice, so most of the time rice around here is something I make small amounts of and eat myself these days with Matt off at college. That said, I made this rice to accompany another recipe of Tessa's and Mark ate it happily and took leftovers of the meal for lunch the next day, so maybe rice like this has more of a future here than I thought. Maybe rice here needs to be bolder with more flavors incorporated to be truly appreciated.  Whenever I make rice to accompany something at dinner, I just usually use straight rice (different kinds but usually don't mix things into it except for special recipes that call for it).  This recipe was really nice with the scallions, spinach, dill, and lemon...it brought a lot of flavor to the overall dish.  Delicious, and so easy to make.  Definitely repeat-worthy, even for Mark.

Spanakorizo (Spinach Rice)
Serves 4

(Recipe from Tessa Kiros in Food From Many Greek Kitchens)

Ingredients:
2.5 pounds of spinach, rinsed and drained
4 Tablespoons olive oil
3.5 ounces green onions with some green, chopped
3 Tablespoons chopped dill
1 cup medium-grain rice
salt
juice of 1 small lemon
freshly ground black pepper
1 T. chopped mint

Coarsely chop the spinach leaves.  Heat the olive oil in a very large pot and saute the onions until pale gold and softened.  Add the dill and saute for 30 seconds or so, then stir in the rice.

Now add the spinach.  You might feel that it won't all fit in the pot, but fit in as much as you can.  Add 2 cups of hot water and press down and turn the spinach until it begins to wilt and it's all in.  Add a good amount of salt, turn the spinach over with a wooden spoon and put the lid on.

Bring to a boil then turn through again. Lower the heat and simmer, covered for about 15 minutes.  If there is still water in the bottom of the pot toward the end of this time, take the lid off and turn up the heat to let it evaporate.  Remove from the heat.

Sprinkle in the lemon juice and add a few grinds of pepper.  Turn through gently and taste for salt.  Add the mint.

Cover with a clean dish cloth, put the lid back on and leave for 10 minutes to steam.  Serve hot or even at room temperature.

IHCC: Tessa Kiros - Arniyuetsi Baked Lamb with Rice-Shaped Pasta

 

      The theme this seventh week of Tessa Kiros' recipes at I Heart Cooking Club is "November Potluck with Tessa."  More precisely, this is what was on the IHCC site for the week:  "Time to make that Tessa recipe that you've had your eye on but just hasn't fit in with a theme yet..."

      I love Potluck weeks because we get to choose anything we want and I've had my eye on this lamb recipe since I first opened the Food From Many Greek Kitchens book and paged through it, you can find it on pages 233-235. 

      I don't cook lamb, haven't a clue how to do that.  I made one lamb dish for the Cooking Italy blog a couple of years ago and that was it.  Time to try something new and figure it all out, this was the perfect week to do it as lamb was on sale at the market.  The recipe is easy, time-consuming only in that it has to stay in the oven for a certain period, the rest of it is not time-consuming at all, or difficult.
      The result is wonderful...so tender with such good flavors from the spices, etc. The pasta was also nicely flavored with the juices from the meat, tomatoes, onions, garlic, etc. Mark declared it "excellent." 

      It's a great recipe to begin exploring lamb if you are in a mood for that.  I served it with the oval pasta, tomatoes, onions cooked with the lamb, and a Greek salad on the side.  Definitely repeat-worthy.  Click here to see what dishes the others brought to the potluck this week, they will all be up by Sunday night.
 

Arniyuvetsi Baked Lamb with Rice-Shaped Pasta
Serves 6

Ingredients:
3 lbs. 5 oz. leg of lamb
1/2 lemon
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5-1/2 ounces of green onions (about 4), quartered and coarsely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
14-oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cinnamon stick
9 ounces kritharaki or risoni (rice shaped pasta)
Shredded Kefalotiri or firm Mizithra Cheese, for serving, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Trim any excess fat off the lamb.
Squeeze the lemon juice over the lamb and massage it in.
Put 4 Tablespoons of the olive oil in a large (about 14-1/2" in diameter) baking dish. 
Add the lamb, then drizzle the rest of the oil over it.
Rub the paprika and garlic onto the lamb and season with salt and pepper.
Add the onions, tomatoes, oregano, and cinnamon to the dish and sprinkle with some salt.
Put it into the oven and roast for 30 minutes.

Add 1 cup of hot water and cook for 1 hour, turning the lamb halfway through.

In the meantime, boil the pasta in lightly salted water until just done.  Drain.
When the lamb is done, add the pasta around it in the dish with 1-1/2 cups of hot water and gently mix into the tomato, trying not to get the pasta on the lamb.
Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the pasta has absorbed quite a bit of the liquid but is still nice and saucy.
Remove from the oven and rest in a warm spot for 5 minutes.
Grind a little pepper over and take the whole dish to the table for serving, with the cheese on the side for whoever wants it. 

IHCC: Tessa Kiros - Conchiglie con Olive (Pasta Shells with Olives)

      The theme this sixth week of Tessa Kiros' recipes at I Heart Cooking Club is "In My Pasta Bowl..."  More precisely, this is what was on the IHCC site for the week:  "Get out your Tessa Kiros cookbooks and pick out a great pasta dish to savor this week."  (Click here to go to site and check out the other pasta dishes that were made this week.)

       This is a pasta loving household as you might know from reading the sheer number of pasta posts that appear on this blog regularly.  I had no trouble locating the one I wanted to make in Tessa's book Twelve: A Tuscan Cookbook. 

      Olives and pasta...what's not to love?  Absolutely nothing...this is delicious. All that salty briny olive goodness with lemon, garlic, parsley, cheese, and pasta, oh, yeah.  (And, oh yeah, don't look for those anchovies in mine as I left them out completely, guys can taste those, no matter how carefully disguised they might be, and refuse to eat anything with anchovies in it.)  Definitely repeat-worthy.
 

Conchiglie con Olive (Pasta Shells with Olives)
Serves 6

Ingredients:
3 ounces each of pitted, good quality, black and green olives
4Tablespoons of olive oil, plus a little more for serving
2 salt-packed anchovies, rinsed, cleaned, and filleted or 4 fillets in olive oil
2 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped
grated zest of one lemon
a small handful of freshly chopped parsley
1 lb 2 oz of short pasta such as penne, fusilli, or shells
1-1/2 cups grated hard ricotta or Parmesan cheese

Put a large saucepan of salted water to the boil.  Chop up the pitted olives or pulse puree into tiny pieces.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan.  Add the anchovies, mashing with a wooden spoon to melt them into the oil.  Add the garlic, and just when it begins to sizzle, add the lemon zest and the olives.  Saute for a few seconds and then remove from the heat and stir in the parsley.

Cook the pasta in the water following the packet instructions.  Drain, reserving a cup of the cooking water, and toss the pasta into the olives.  Add the water and a grinding of pepper and mix through.  Sprinkle with the ricotta and serve immediately with a splash of olive oil or chili oil.

IHCC: Tessa Kiros - Red Pepper Soup with Olives, Lemon Zest, and Yogurt

 

      The theme this fifth week of Tessa Kiros' recipes at I Heart Cooking Club is "Harvest Moon:  Food Celebrating Fall's Bounty/Halloween-Themed Foods."  More precisely, this is what was on the IHCC site for the week:  "The Harvest Moon is a beautiful and magical time to celebrate autumn's beauty, color, and splendor.  How will you enjoy the bountiful gifts of autumn?  Will it be with spicy baked goods, something hearty and comforting, or maybe even a spooky treat..." 

      I figured this whole idea of comforting food gave me carte blanche to make soup, right?  I knew you would agree.  Now, which soup would showcase the harvest bounty around here?  I found it:  Red Pepper Soup with Olives, Lemon Zest, and Yogurt, found in the Tessa Kiros book Falling Cloudberries on page 343. 

      Isn't this a beautiful soup?  It tastes even better than it looks...the smokey red pepper, with tomatoes, the slight bite of the Kalamata olives, the fresh clean zip of the lemon zest, the piney goodness of the rosemary, and the creamy tang of the Greek yogurt.  Seriously good soup...it moved right up to the number two spot on my soup list, right under French Onion Soup and right before Ellie's Chicken Orzo Soup.  I will be making this one over and over this winter. 

      Click here and visit the list of links to connections for this week, which ends Sunday night.
  

Red Pepper Soup with Olives, Lemon Zest, and Yogurt
Serves 6

Ingredients:
4 red peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeds removed
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic lightly crushed with the flat of a knife
1 small red onion, sliced
4 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 1 (14 oz) can tomatoes, chopped
1-1/4 cups plain Greek yogurt
1/3 cup pitted black olives, roughly chopped
Finely grated zest of one lemon
Leaves from 2 rosemary sprigs, finely chopped

Preheat the broiler to high.  Line a large baking sheet with foil and arrange the peppers, skin side up, in a single layer.  Broil for about 30 minutes, until the skin has darkened in places and swelled up and the peppers are soft.  You might need to move them around on the sheet so they are evenly broiled or remove the halves that are blackened and leave some in for longer.

Transfer the peppers to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap (or put in a plastic bag and seal) and let sweat for 10 minutes to make peeling easier.  Peel off the skin.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and saute the garlic and onion for about 5 minutes.  Add the tomato and cook until it begins to bubble.  Add the pepper halves, tearing them into large chunks as you put them in the pan.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover the pan, and simmer gently for about 30 minutes.  Remove from the heat and puree.  The soup should be fairly thick:  if it seems too watery, simmer uncovered for a while longer.  If it seems too thick, add a little more water.

Check the seasoning and serve the soup hot with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of chopped olives, lemon zest, and rosemary.

IHCC: Tessa Kiros - Salsicce e Fagioli (Sausages and Beans)

 

      The theme this fourth week of Tessa Kiros' recipes at I Heart Cooking Clubs is "Peasant Food."  More precisely, this is what was on the IHCC site for the week:  "Characteristic recipes often include hearty one-dish meals like soups, stews and casseroles, vegetables, beans, breads, and pastas..." 

      I confess, I was running a little short of time, so I just started skimming my TK books for photos of something, anything, that looked like peasant food that I would happen to have ingredients on hand (which, incidentally is not a bad way to go through books looking for recipes), and I ended up with a lovely photo of beans and sausage and knew at once that I had found my recipe:  Salsicce e Fagioli (Sausages and Beans), found in the Tessa Kiros book Twelve on page 56.  In the book it says that Tuscans are well known for their love of beans and this one is a favorite.  Works for me. 

      It's not complicated, needs some time to cook, definitely a slow cooking thing with soaking and cooking beans involved, but a very nice thing to have going on a cold rainy day, which it was here. 

      The flavors are wonderfully satisfying, tomatoes, beans, sausage, garlic, sage...all of it just blends well together and a little goes a long way as it feels very rich and filling, i.e. the portion in the photo works well for one, it's a little 5" dish. 

      If you'd like to see more of this week's peasant food recipes, click here and visit the list of links to connections for this week, which ends Sunday night when the recipes for next week will include Harvest Moon, recipes celebrating Fall's bounty.

 

Salsicce e Fagioli (Sausages and Beans)
Serves 6

Ingredients:
500 g (1 lb. 2 oz) dried cannellini beans (or other white beans) soaked overnight in cold water
3 cloves of garlic peeled
3 sprigs of sage
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
6 large Italian pork sausages, about 100 g (3.5 ounces) each
400 g (14 oz can) peeled tomatoes with their juice, chopped

Rinse the beans and put them into a large saucepan.  Cover with water and bring to a boil.  Skim the surface scum with a slotted spoon.  Add two whole garlic cloves and one of the sage sprigs.  Cook for 1-1.5 hours or until the beans are tender.  Season with salt and pepper in the last half hour of cooking time.

In a separate large sauce pan, heat the olive oil.  Prick the sausages in a couple of places with a fork and add them to the pan.  Fry on medium-high heat to brown on all sides.  Add the remaining garlic clove and sage, and as soon as it begins to sizzle, add the tomatoes.  Simmer for about 15 minutes until the tomatoes have melded into a sauce.

Drain the beans reserving a little of the cooking liquid and add the beans to the sausage pot.  Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper, if necessary.  Simmer for 10 minutes more, adding 1/2-1 cup of the reserved bean water to thin it out a little.  Serve warm.

 

IHCC: Tessa Kiros - Apple Cake with Toffee Toppping

      The theme this third week of Tessa Kiros' recipes at I Heart Cooking Club is "From the Orchard."  More precisely, this is what was on the IHCC site for the week:  "Possibilities abound...apples, pears, cherries, and plums...to oranges, lemons, limes, and kumquats...to pomegranates, crabapples, passionfruit, persimmons, or even guavas..." 

      I paged through the books and landed on a recipe for Apple Cake with Toffee Topping from Tessa Kiros' book Falling Cloudberries on page 269.  Apples and Toffee...oh yeah, that was the one for sure. 

      Since we are numbered only two here now, I made a third of the recipe which fit nicely into two little 4" round springform pans.  Okay, I made a third of the cake batter, etc., but when it came to the topping, I made half the recipe...I figured you would be onto me so I might as well confess it now.  We happen to love toffee, maybe a little too much.  The little cakes baked for 35 minutes and tested done.
      I was feeling really good about my little cakes until I hopped on the home site, saw that Michelle had done this recipe as well AND did it so much better than I did...she poked holes in her cake so the toffee topping would ooze down into the cake (why do I never think of these things) and she added some nuts on the top which look just lovely.  Anyway, go see her cake, and if you want the recipe, she has it posted on her site ever so nicely.  Great job, Michelle. 

      This cake was so delicious as is, but you can bet next time, I'm poking holes and tossing nuts on the top, too.  The other recipes made this week are here, give a click and enjoy!

IHCC: Tessa Kiros - Finocchi Gratinati (Baked Fennel)

 

      The theme this second week of Tessa Kiros' recipes at I Heart Cooking Club is "Potluck."  More precisely, this is what was on the IHCC site for the week:  "Tessa Kiros is a world traveler and, more importantly, a worldly cook. So throw open your boundaries and try something new this week."   

       I paged through the books and landed on a recipe for Finocchi Gratinati (Baked Fennel) from Tessa Kiros' book Twelve.  Twelve divides the recipes into chapters named for the 12 months of the year, this recipe came from September. 

      Fennel is something I cook with on the rare occasion when I need to do a recipe for a blog-along that requires it.  Other than that, fennel is not on the weekly grocery list.  I'm never really sure how I feel about it.  I generally like it, but it's not something I pursue outside the nice little box I have allocated for it.  It's time to visit fennel a little more aggressively because I think I would like it better if I was more comfortable with it.  (Fennel is good for regulating blood pressure, digestion, blood purification, eyesight, coughs, etc. so it seems like something worthy of incorporating into menu planning.)
      This is a great recipe, takes a little time to prepare as you cook the fennel twice, but so worth it because the flavor is fresh and delicious.  The combination in this oozy and cheesy casserole reminded me of scalloped potatoes or macaroni and cheese, but yet very different because of that special taste that fennel has, that sort of anise flavor that gives it a zip that you aren't quite expecting. 

      I think the anise flavor is less pronounced in baked fennel than in raw fennel that I use in salads.  I like both, and this recipe is really wonderful.  Definitely picking up fennel more often...and definitely making this recipe again.

Finocchi Gratinati (Baked Fennel)
Serves 6-8

5 medium-large fennel bulbs, washed and trimmed
60 g (1/2 cup) flour for dusting the fennel
120 g (4.5 oz) butter
375 ml (1.5 cups) milk
nutmeg
60 g (2/3 cup) freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

 
1)  Boil the whole fennel in lightly salted water for about 15 minutes or until they are soft, yet firm.
2)  Drain well and divide each one in half lengthwise.  Cut each half into 3-4 pieces vertically, so the pieces remain attached at the stem.
3)  Pat the pieces in flour.
4)  Grease an oven dish with a little of the butter.
5)  Put the fennel in the oven dish in a single layer.
6)  Season with a little more salt and pepper, add the milk. 
7)  Dot with the remaining butter and sprinkle with the Parmigiano Reggiano. 
8)  Grate over some nutmeg.
9)  Bake for 35 minutes or until the top is golden with a little thickened sauce.
10)  Remove from the oven and serve hot or at room temperature.

IHCC: Tessa Kiros - Feta Fournou (Baked Feta)

      The I Heart Cooking Club changes chefs every six months, alternating between women/men chefs.  This week marked the change-over from Jamie Oliver to Tessa Kiros.  Once I heard that Tessa was in the mix for the new lineup, I hopped over to cast my vote for her and she won, so I'm definitely in for this rotation of IHCC from now through the end of March.

      Tessa, who?  Tessa Kiros.  I had heard of her before as we are fond of Greek cuisine around here, so I had made two recipes online by her but had never received one of her cookbooks and didn't know much about her.  Until now.  If you follow this link here, you can read about Tessa and see the lineup for this month of themes at IHCC. 

      Themes?  Yes, IHCC chooses a theme each week and the participants may cook/bake any recipe they wish from Tessa Kiros' books or online, etc., posting at will sometime during the week before Sunday when the new theme goes into play (themes for the entire month are listed on the right sidebar).  Once you post, you simply leave your link at the site and readers are able to click on other participants to see recipes chosen by them.  I like the freedom of this style of recipe selection/posting/linking very much. 

      Tessa is not as well-known as other cookbook authors, but she has an amazing array of recipes and cooking experiences from her travels.  I am looking forward to trying her Italian, Portuguese, Finnish, South African recipes, etc. as well.  I am hoping this exposure will add a little more presence for her on the internet, so I am doing something I rarely do, I'm going to post recipes from the books, hoping that this will generate interest in this author, who has gorgeous books, and leads to more sales for her. 

      I thought long and hard about this as I do not post recipes that belong to others without permission and I wasn't certain how I was going to get permission each week to post Tessa's recipes.  That said, when I looked for contact information for the publisher, I found this note in the book Food From Many Greek Kitchens by Tessa Kiros: "This edition published in 2011 by Andrew McMeel Publishing, LLC, all rights reserved. Printed in China. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews."  So, please know that these posts are all "reviews" of Tessa's recipes and are being shared so that interest might be generated for her work and recipes in hopes that others will purchase her books for their enjoyment and use.  Now, that makes me happy. 

      The first theme is "Welcome Tessa" and suggestions were to choose a recipe that says "a 'welcome' to you."  Actually, all of them seemed welcoming to me, I love Greek food, but I finally decided to settle on something that would be a nice welcome to someone stopping by the house for a visit, something easy, quick, delicious, and fun. 

      I chose Feta Fournou (Baked Feta), on page 148 of her book Food From Many Greek Kitchens.  It seemed a nice thing to make and snack on.  I served it warm with pita bread cut into wedges.  Delicious, filling, and fairly healthy as well.  The ingredients are ones that I always usually have on hand, so if someone pops by unexpectedly, I'm thinking that this is a go-to on that and taste alone.  (If you have any leftovers, it works great as a topping for lettuce salad, just plop it on top of lettuce and you are good to go.)

Feta Fournou (Baked Feta)
Serves 2 or 4 as part of a Meze

7 ounces of crumbled Feta
1-1/2 ounces of green sweet pepper, finely sliced (about 1 small)
1/2 small tomato, chopped
1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 good pinches of dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Divide the feta between two small ceramic dishes.
Scatter the green pepper over the top and then the chopped tomato over the pepper.
Drizzle on the olive oil, crumble the oregano in, and top with a good grind of black pepper.
Bake until a bit crusty on the sides, about 20 minutes.

Note:  This is nice made in small individual ceramic dishes.  Serve hot with bread.

IHCC: Fall Favorites: Giada's Butternut Squash Soup with Fontina Cheese Crostini

      The seventh week theme for I Heart Cooking Clubs, featuring chef Giada De Laurentiis, was Fall Favorites, so I chose Giada's Butternut Squash Soup with Fontina Cheese Crostini, recipe on page 52-53, in the Giada at Home cookbook. You can also find the recipes here. 

      I love soup, you are getting that by now, right?  I promise to pick something different for next week.  Really, I do eat more than soup, it's just that when I see a great looking soup recipe, it's hard to resist passing it up.  And, well, the theme was Fall Favorites, and what says "Fall" more than Butternut Squash?! 

      Ingredient list for the soup:  Butternut squash, onion, carrot, garlic, olive oil, butter, chicken broth, fresh sage leaves, salt, and pepper.  It goes together easily, cooks on top of the stove, and gets whirred about with the immersion blender when everything is nicely soft in texture.  I love that her version does not include cream and yet it tastes perfectly creamy.  Delicious, definitely a repeat. 

      The crostini ingredient list:  Baguette slices, olive oil, fresh sage leaves, Fontina cheese.  Easy, quick, and delicious. 

      Next week's theme is Potluck, come join in, just leave your link at the I Heart Cooking Clubs site.

IHCC: Kid at Heart: Giada's Hearty Tomato Soup with Lemon and Rosemary with Taleggio and Pear Panini

      The sixth week theme for I Heart Cooking Clubs, featuring chef Giada De Laurentiis, was Kid at Heart, so I chose Giada's Hearty Tomato Soup with Lemon and Rosemary, recipe on page 44-45, as well as Taleggio and Pear Panini, recipe on page 56, both in the Giada's Kitchen cookbook. You can also find the recipes here and here. 

      I love soup.  I think I could have soup every single lunch and never get tired of it...wait, I already do have soup for lunch much of the time and I never get tired of it.  When I was in elementary school I think that is pretty much all I ever ate for lunch:  Campbell's Tomato Soup and a Grilled Cheese Sandwich...it was my favorite lunch, and while I have stepped up a bit from canned tomato soup and sandwiches made with Wonder bread and Kraft Singles from my childhood, I still love a great tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich. 

      When the theme for this week was "Kid at Heart," I knew exactly what I was going to make.  The Hearty Tomato Soup with Lemon and Rosemary is wonderful.  The photo in the book had one very nice dollop of whipped rosemary lemon cream perched on top, so I did that and it started melting before I could get my photo...oh, well, I tried.  It was great all melty like that as there are hot pepper flakes in the soup, so the cream cools the heat down a bit while adding more lemon and rosemary flavor.

      Ingredient list:  Tomatoes, Carrots, Onion, Cannellini Beans, Garlic, Chicken Broth, Bay Leaf, Rosemary, Red Pepper Flakes, Salt, Pepper, Cream, Lemon Zest.  It goes together easily.  Delicious, definitely a repeat. 

      The panini sandwich ingredient list:  Ciabatta Bread, Olive Oil, Taleggio Cheese, Pears, Honey, Salt, Pepper, and Fresh Spinach. 

      Oh, my goodness was this a great sandwich!  I don't have a panini press, so I just made grilled cheese sandwiches with it and it worked just fine.  This one is definitely a repeat, actually, we are having it again tomorrow for lunch as Mark was very happy with it as well. 

      Next week's theme is Fall Favorites, come join in, just leave your link at the I Heart Cooking Clubs site.

IHCC: Out of Italy: Giada's Onion Soup with Fontina and Thyme

      The fifth week theme for I Heart Cooking Clubs, featuring chef Giada De Laurentiis, was Out of Italy, so I chose Giada's Onion Soup with Fontina and Thyme recipe. You can find the recipe here. 

      The first thing to know is that I am a French Onion Soup nut.  I almost always order it when I go out to eat, I am very picky about finding really good FOS, and I have made more varieties/recipes/kinds of FOS than probably almost anyone you know personally, unless you know a lot of chefs. 

      When it came time for this week's theme, I hadn't a clue what I would choose, but I saw that one of the other members chose this soup and I lost all thoughts of doing anything else.  Why would I not want to make it so that I could taste and compare it to all the others I have tried?  You can see from the recipe, if you have clicked over on it already, that it is simple, requires only a few ingredients, and pretty much follows your typical French Onion Soup recipe. 

      How did it stack up with my favorites?  Hmmm...well, if one is just sitting down to a bowl of it, it was good.  If one is going to compare it with others when deciding if one will make it again, the answer would be "no."  It wasn't bad, it just wasn't the caliber of FOS that I have been accustomed to making/eating.  The recipe calls for Vidalia onions, which, are just too sweet for me after they cook down a little...sweetness not something I value highly in a soup.  The seasonings of thyme, salt, pepper, a little olive oil, were just so-so.  The bread cubes were okay, but I prefer mine toasted a little to keep them from getting really soggy, not a fan of wet bread.  The cheese of choice in this recipe was Fontina, which I did not think stood up well to my usual favorite, Gruyere, which has a slightly nutty flavor and is a strong addition to the flavorings.  The Fontina is a little bland in this regard. 

      All in all, it just did not have the kick or depth of flavor that I love in a really good French Onion Soup.  I am happy I made it, though, just to taste and see, and none of it went to waste...it just wasn't a Top Ten for me. 

      The next week's theme is Kid at Heart, come join in, just leave your link at the I Heart Cooking Clubs site.

IHCC: Chocolate Cravings: Giada's Espresso Caramel Bars

      The fourth week theme for I Heart Cooking Clubs, featuring chef Giada De Laurentiis, was Chocolate Cravings, so I chose Giada's Espresso Caramel Bars recipe from Giada At Home cookbook, pages 181-182. You can also find the recipe here. 

      Those who have been cooking/baking with me awhile know by now that chocolate is not my favorite ingredient by a long shot.  It is, however, a favorite ingredient around here with the guys, so I am always happy to try something new along those lines that I think they might enjoy.  They are coffee drinkers as well, so combining the flavors of coffee and chocolate with a well-loved ingredient like caramel, seemed like just the sort of treat they would enjoy.  They did indeed. 

      It went together quickly, although there were three separate components to make, the chocolate topping, the caramel middle (I absolutely love making homemade caramel), and the cookie-like crust.  Apparently, it was delicious and I will definitely be making this one again. 

      The next week's theme was Out of Italy, come join in, just leave your link at the I Heart Cooking Clubs site.

IHCC: Giada's Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup

       The third week theme for I Heart Cooking Clubs, featuring chef Giada De Laurentiis, was Potluck, so I chose Giada's Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup recipe from Giada's Kitchen cookbook, page 46. You can also find the recipe here. 

      It is the beginning of soup weather around here and soup potlucks are my favorite!  Soups, salads, crusty bread and rolls, be still my heart. 

      Ingredient list:  cannellini beans, garlic, butter, olive oil, shallots, sage leaves, chicken broth, cream salt, and pepper.  It went together quickly and was delicious.  I will definitely be making this one again. 

      The next week's theme was Chocolate Cravings, come join in, just leave your link at the I Heart Cooking Clubs site.

IHCC: Giada's Chicken Florentine

      The second week theme for I Heart Cooking Clubs, featuring chef Giada De Laurentiis, was Served Family Style, so I chose Giada's Chicken Florentine recipe from Giada's Family Dinners cookbook, page 89. You can also find the recipe here.

      Loved this recipe, it was easy, quick, delicious, and a wonderful week night dinner. I served it with steamed broccoli and baked sweet potato fries, because the guys here are all about a weekly serving of baked sweet potato fries.

      Ingredient list for the recipe is not long: boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, salt, pepper, flour, shallots, garlic, dry white wine, heavy cream, parsley, and spinach (it called for frozen, but I used fresh sauteed just a little as that is how we like it).  It went together in a flash.  Definitely a repeat.

The next week's theme was Potluck, come join in, just leave your link at the I Heart Cooking Clubs site.

IHCC: Giada's Pecorino Crackers

A blogging friend, Natashya at Living in the Kitchen with Puppies, manages a blog-along called I Heart Cooking Clubs and so far I have resisted the urge to join yet another group, even just to check it out.  I have cooked and baked with Natashya in, at the very least, Whisk Wednesdays, Tuesdays with Dorie, Bread Baker's Apprentice, and maybe one or two more.  Natashya is also one of my 30 Twitter pals who bake/cook together on any given day whenever anyone is so inspired to do so. 

In I Heart Cooking Clubs the cookbook chef/author changes every six months.  When one period is coming to a close, there is a voting to see who will be the next chosen chef/cookbook author, they alternate one month a man, the next a woman.  Giada was included in the voting last month and Natashya was encouraging me just so sweetly to go over, vote, and if it turned out to be that Giada was the chosen chef, join. 

Why is that you ask?  Because I cook Giada's food here anyway, I might as well join in the fun.  I love Giada's recipes, have all five of her books, and we have enjoyed every single recipe I have ever made from them. 

In this blog-along each person selects her/his own choices for the recipe(s) to post that week, and there is no posting requirement (one just leaves a link at the site if one posts).  Enough said.  I Heart Cooking Clubs, I am in. 

The theme this week was Party Foods, so I chose Giada's Pecorino Crackers recipe from her Giada's Kitchen cookbook, page 34-35.  You can also find the recipe here.  They look like little cheese cookies and are a big hit here, easy to make, simple ingredients, and I dare you to try and eat just one, it can't be done. 

Next week's theme is "Served Family Style," come join in, just leave your link at the I Heart Cooking Clubs site.