Grandma's Kitchen Table

Cooking The Books; Bread Alone; May Twitter Chef Avatar (Giada De Laurentiis)

      Am a bit behind in blogging here at The Table.  It's been a busy month. Di was hosting a blogging event today entitled Cooking The Books.  The assignment was to make anything we wanted out of one of our cookbooks and pass the love along.  Since my latest cookbook acquisition was the newest Giada one for my birthday, I decided I would pick a recipe to make from it...and make it count 3 for 1 as I could use it for my Twitter chef avatar this month and for a Bread Alone post.  What a deal.  Here is the link to Di's blog about the blogging event, it will also link you to others who participated and made recipes they love from some of their books. Enjoy! 

      We are also having a bit of avatar fun over at Twitter, my baking/cooking pals and I, just to shake things up a bit and confuse everyone each month as to who is who and all.  Nancy came up with the great idea of each of us picking a different chef for each month, all of us making anything we each selected to make from that chef's recipes, taking a photo of our efforts, and using that photo as our avatar for that month.  It has been a great way to learn new chefs and cook something in their repertoire.  May's avatar chef is Giada De Laurentiis, chosen by me...we love Giada's recipes and I have all of her cookbooks. 

      This recipe for Scallion and Mozzarella Cornbread can be found in Giada's newest book, Weeknights with Giada, on pages 198-199, or online here. 

      We make chili quite often here as everyone loves it.  It's the only time we serve cornbread and we enjoy trying different recipes for it, so I am always bookmarking cornbread recipes to try.  This is a very good one...the onions, olives, mozzarella, all make one very flavorful cornbread.  It's also very pretty, not as important to the guys, but it entertains me a great deal. 

      The recipe goes together nicely and I wouldn't change one thing, although I am going to try them as mini muffins next time as I think that would be a lovely use of this recipe...they would be so cute and pretty, and we all know by now I am all about the cute and pretty in food, right?  Admit it, so are you!  The rest of the recipe is great just as written.  Definitely a repeat.

Twitter Chef Avatar Fun: Delia Smith's French Onion Soup

      We are having a bit of avatar fun over at Twitter, my baking/cooking pals and I, just to shake things up a bit and confuse everyone each month as to who is who and all.  Nancy came up with the great idea of each of us picking a different chef for each month, all of us making anything we each selected to make from that chef's recipes, taking a photo of our efforts, and using that photo as our avatar for that month.  It has been a great way to learn new chefs and cook something in their repertoire. 

      February's avatar chef is Delia Smith, chosen by Nancy.  I had never really heard of Delia Smith before this, which is the whole point of this little undertaking each month, to learn a new chef, so it was fun to look for recipes by her online.  There are many many of them and it didn't take me long to come up with several options. 

      French Onion Soup won out...anyone who knows me at all will not be surprised.  I love, love, love French Onion Soup.  I order it whenever I can just to sample everyone's take on it.  I make it at home for lunch often.  I can't even count the number of different recipes I have tried because it always seems like I grab a new one each month to give it a go. 

      This recipe is excellent, absolutely wonderful.  It has a suitably rich taste from the beef stock, the wine flavor definitely comes through so use a nice wine.  It has just the right amount of garlic in it, which I thought was a good note.  The cognac is a hint of flavor as there is not a whole lot in the recipe, so it does not overpower the onion mixture taste.  Definitely a repeat, definitely on my top ten list for FOS.

French Onion Soup
Delia Smith (via Delia Online)

Ingredients
1½ lb (700 g) onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 oz (50 g) butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ level teaspoon granulated sugar
2 pints (1.2 litres) good beef stock (see related recipe below)
10 fl oz (275 ml) dry white wine
2 tablespoons Cognac
salt and freshly milled black pepper
For the croutons:
French bread or baguettine, cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) diagonal slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
To serve:
6 large or 12 small croutons (see above)
8 oz (225 g) Gruyère, grated
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C).

Method

First make the croutons – begin by drizzling the olive oil on to a large, solid baking-sheet, add the crushed garlic and then, using your hands, spread the oil and garlic all over the baking sheet. Now place the bread slices on top of the oil, then turn over each one so that both sides have been lightly coated with the oil.  Bake them in the oven for 20-25 minutes till crispy and crunchy.

Next place the saucepan or casserole on a high heat and melt the oil and butter together. When this is very hot, add the onions, garlic and sugar, and keep turning them from time to time until the edges of the onions have turned dark – this will take about 6 minutes. Then reduce the heat to its lowest setting and leave the onions to carry on cooking very slowly for about 30 minutes, by which time the base of the pan will be covered with a rich, nut brown, caramelised film.

After that, pour in the stock and white wine, season, then stir with a wooden spoon, scraping the base of the pan well.  As soon as it all comes up to simmering point, turn down the heat to its lowest setting, then go away and leave it to cook very gently, without a lid, for about 1 hour. All this can be done in advance but, when you're ready to serve the soup, bring it back up to simmering point, taste to check for seasoning – and if it's extra-cold outside, add a couple of tablespoons of Cognac!

Warm the tureen or soup bowls in a low oven and pre-heat the grill to its highest setting. Then ladle in the hot soup and top with the croutons, allowing them to float on the top of the soup. Now sprinkle the grated Gruyère thickly over the croutons and place the whole lot under the grill until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling. Serve immediately – and don't forget to warn your guests that everything is very hot!

Twitter Chef Avatar Fun: Donna Hay's Roasted Pistachio and Honey Yogurt

 

      We are having a bit of avatar fun over at Twitter, my baking/cooking pals and I, just to shake things up a bit and confuse everyone each month as to who is who and all.  Nancy came up with the great idea of each of us picking a different chef for each month, all of us making anything we each selected to make from that chef's recipes, taking a photo of our efforts, and using that photo as our avatar for that month.  It has been a great way to learn new chefs and cook something in their repertoire. 

      January's avatar chef is Donna Hay, chosen by myself.  I have two of Donna Hay's cookbooks:  Off the Shelf and New Food Fast, which have been shamefully neglected.  I hope to correct that this year, so January is a good place to begin. 

      My blogging friend Gaye, from Australia who baked in Tuesdays with Dorie and French Fridays with Dorie with me, expressed a desire to cook more Donna Hay recipes, so we are hoping to explore them together this year.  Donna Hay is actually Australian and if you would like to learn more about her, here is her site.  

      What attracts me to her recipes are their simplicity and the clean healthy appearances of them...the books I have contain a photo for each recipe (nice to know where one is headed and all) and the recipes are simply and clearly written.  Each recipe is beautifully presented (check out the recipe links on her site and I'm sure you will agree.)  Like I said, shamefully neglected on my shelves as each time I look through them I am determined to cook more from them and somehow that day has not arrived...until now. 

      I'm starting off with a simple recipe that I thought would make a delightful breakfast (or snack) and also make a pretty avatar.  This recipe is all that, and very fast/easy to make and eat!  Delicious!

Roasted Pistachio and Honey Yogurt

Adapted From New Food Fast by Donna Hay

 

 

Pour honey into the base of a small glass or bowl (I used a tablespoon of honey in this small glass).

 
Sprinkle with coarsely chopped roasted pistachios (I used a tablespoon of nuts).
Top with thick creamy yogurt (I used about 3 ounces of yogurt).

 
Delve spoon through the layers to the bottom and drag it through the layers to get a bit of each with each bite.

Twitter Chef Avatar Fun: Jamie Oliver's Apple Cranberry Sauce

      We are having a bit of avatar fun over at Twitter this year, my baking/cooking pals and I, just to shake things up a bit and confuse everyone each month as to who is who and all.  Nancy came up with the great idea of each of us picking a different chef for each month, all of us making anything we each selected to make from that chef's recipes, taking a photo of our efforts, and using that photo as our avatar for that month. 

      December's avatar chef is Jamie Oliver, chosen by group vote.  I googled "JO Christmas recipes" and came up with a nice selection to choose from as I knew I wanted something festive and holiday-ish for this month's avatar, so the recipe I chose was Apple Cranberry Sauce as I thought the bright red color would definitely say "Christmas Holiday." 

      I have made a few of JO's recipes in the past, always with a great deal of success, and this recipe would definitely be counted as a success as well.  Sometimes there is a fine line for me between sweet and too sweet with cranberry relish recipes.  This one was perfect, not too sweet, just perfectly sweet enough to allow the tartness of the cranberries to shine through.  Definitely repeat-worthy.  Here's a connect to the recipe if you'd like to try it in your kitchen, it would be very pretty on a Christmas menu.  Click here. 

Twitter Chef Avatar Fun: Ghillie Basan's Spinach with Currants, Pine Nuts, and Yogurt

 

      We are having a bit of avatar fun over at Twitter, my baking/cooking pals and I, just to shake things up a bit and confuse everyone each month as to who is who and all.  Nancy came up with the great idea of each of us picking a different chef for each month, all of us making anything we each selected to make from that chef's recipes, taking a photo of our efforts, and using that photo as our avatar for that month. 

      November's avatar chef is Ghillie Basan, chosen by Andrea.  The recipe I chose was Spinach with Currants, Pine Nuts, and Yogurt. 

      I didn't know a thing about Ghillie Basan before this month, had never even heard of her, which is a shame because after doing a bit of research online, I see that she has a lovely assortment of cookbooks (click here to see them), all of them look wonderful!  If you would like to learn more about Ghillie Basan, click here where you will find information about her and a few more of her recipes. 

      I loved this spinach recipe...the only thing I changed was that I just barely wilted the spinach as that is how we like it, not cooked all the way down, etc.  The onions, currants, garlic, red pepper, toasted pine nuts, and yogurt all went really well with the spinach and gave it a lovely flavor, I could eat this for lunch every day for a week. 

      Delicious, healthy, and definitely a repeat, as a matter of fact, this one is going into our regular rotation of spinach recipes, it's that good.

Spinach with Currants, Pine Nuts and Yogurt

(Serves 3-4)

(Taken from Turkish Cooking and shared on Ghillie Basan site found here)

350g/12oz fresh spinach leaves, thoroughly washed and drained
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, cut in half lengthways, in half again crossways and sliced with the grain
1 teaspoon sugar
1-2 tablespoons currants, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes and drained
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1-2 teaspoons Turkish red pepper, or 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
juice of 1 lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper
roughly 200g/7oz thick, creamy, set yogurt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
ground paprika for the top

Place the spinach in a steamer, or in a colander placed in a large pot partially filled with water.
Steam the spinach until soft. Drain off any excess water and coarsely chop the steamed spinach.

In a bowl, beat the yogurt with the garlic. Season with salt and pepper and put aside.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan and stir in the onions and sugar, until they begin to color.
Toss in the currants, pine nuts and red pepper and fry until the nuts begin to color.
Add the spinach, tossing it around the pan until well mixed and pour in the lemon juice.
Season the mixture with salt and pepper.

Serve the spinach from the pan with the yogurt spooned on top, or tip the mixture onto a serving dish.
Make a well in the middle and spoon the yogurt into it, drizzling some of it over the spinach.
Sprinkle a little paprika over the yogurt and serve while the spinach is still hot.

My note: I didn't do the spinach in a steamer, I just added it later into the pan with the ingredients and let it wilt down for a minute or two and it was delicious!

Twitter Chef Avatar Fun: Mark Bittman's Stuffed Acorn Squash

      We are having a bit of avatar fun over at Twitter, my baking/cooking pals and I, just to shake things up a bit and confuse everyone each month as to who is who and all.  Nancy came up with the great idea of each of us picking a different chef for each month, all of us making anything we each selected to make from that chef's recipes, taking a photo of our efforts, and using that photo as our avatar for that month. 

      October's avatar chef is Mark Bittman, chosen by Abby.  The recipe I chose was his recipe for Stuffed Acorn Squash.  I tried to find the recipe online for you all, but it turns out that he has dozens of baked acorn squash recipes, each slightly different, so I will post what I used for this one. 

      I own one Mark Bittman cookbook, How to Cook Everything, and it is just full of recipes (about 2,000 of them) that are user-friendly and delicious.  When I am looking around at 5:00 p.m. for what to make for dinner, this book comes off the shelf as I always find something that I have ingredients for, or that he tells me how to sub ingredients for, a big help on a weekly basis!  This squash was a spur of the moment decision (at 5:23 p.m. actually, needed for dinner at 6:30).  I had been to a farmer's market and gotten some lovely squash this afternoon, I had everything else on hand for this recipe, and before 6:30 it was finished and ready for the table.  Delicious, healthy, and definitely a repeat.

                                          Stuffed Acorn Squash
                                                  Serves 2

1)  Halve one smallish sized acorn squash (cut a small slice from the tip and bottom of the squash so they will sit firmly after they have been stuffed), scrape out the seeds, and rub the insides with a tiny bit of butter, roast (cut side down) at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.
2)  In the meantime, caramelize one large onion (cut into thin slices) in a saute pan on the stove with 1 Tablespoon of butter and 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar. 
3)  When onions are caramelized, remove from heat, stir in 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans, the zest and juice of 1 orange.
4)  When the squash has baked 25 minutes, remove from oven, flip the halves over, give them a little salt and freshly ground pepper and spoon the onion/cranberry/pecan filling into the squash cavities.
5)  Put back into the oven and bake for another 20 minutes.   

Twitter Chef Avatar Fun: Nigella Lawson's Peach Melba

      We are having a bit of avatar fun over at Twitter, my baking/cooking pals and I, just to shake things up a bit and confuse everyone each month as to who is who and all.  Nancy came up with the great idea of each of us picking a different chef for each month, all of us making anything we each selected to make from that chef's recipes, taking a photo of our efforts, and using that photo as our avatar for that month. 

      September's avatar chef is Nigella Lawson, chosen by Marthe.  The recipe I chose was NL's recipe for Peach Melba and you can find it online here. 

      I have never made any recipes from Nigella Lawson before, so I am looking forward to exploring a bit this month and making a few things from her online recipes as I don't have any of her cookbooks.  When I did a search to look for a recipe, this Peach Melba recipe was the first one that popped up and since right now peaches here are just wonderful, I looked no further for my first recipe as I knew it would be pretty and make a nice avatar...oh, yes, not only do I need a great tasting recipe from the chef each month, I need one that will be avatar-worthy on Twitter. 

      This recipe is quick, easy, and oh so delicious. Raspberries and Peaches are a match made in Heaven.  Oh, yeah.  Definitely a repeat.

Twitter Chef Avatar Fun: Rick Bayless

      We are having a bit of avatar fun over at Twitter, my baking/cooking pals and I, just to shake things up a bit and confuse everyone each month as to who is who and all.  Nancy came up with the great idea of each of us picking a different chef for each month, all of us making anything we each selected to make from that chef's recipes, taking a photo of our efforts, and using that photo as our avatar for that month. 

      August's avatar chef is Rick Bayless, chosen by JoVonn.  The recipe I chose was RB's recipe for Caldo Camaron Asado (Spicy Grilled Shrimp Stew) and you can find it in his cookbook:  Mexico One Plate at a Time, on page 161-162 or you can find it online here (although it says "adapted," I checked and it is the very same recipe. 

      Anyone who knows me knows I am always up for soup anytime any season.  I was looking for a recipe this month with a bit of color as last month my avatar was all white with that coconut cupcake photo.  This seemed like it would be just great in looks and taste...and I was so right, this is a great soup. 

      I am a little "iffy" always on Mexican food, not really one of my first choices (or actually ever something I would choose) when dining out (and I don't make any of it at home other than the occasional toco or quesadilla), so I am looking forward to maybe expanding my horizons on the whole Mexican food scene, for which my family will be eternally grateful, no doubt as they love Mexican food.  Bring it on, I'm up for a little adventure.  This soup is not too spicy, but you can adjust that if you like, for me it was perfect and delicious!  Definitely a repeat.

Twitter Chef Avatar Fun: Ina Garten Coconut Cupcakes

      We are having a bit of avatar fun over at Twitter, my baking/cooking pals and I, just to shake things up a bit and confuse everyone each month as to who is who and all.  Nancy came up with the great idea of each of us picking a different chef for each month, all of us making anything we each selected to make from that chef's recipes, taking a photo of our efforts, and using that photo as our avatar for that month. 

      July's avatar chef is Ina Garten, chosen by Phyl.  The recipe I chose was Ina's Coconut Cupcakes and you can find it in Ina's first cookbook:  The Barefoot Contessa or you can find it online here.  These are always a big hit for anyone who loves coconut.  Delicious!

Twitter Chef Avatar Fun: Jacques Pepin's Hard Cooked Eggs in Mustard Sauce

      We are having a bit of avatar fun over at Twitter, my baking/cooking pals and I, just to shake things up a bit and confuse everyone each month as to who is who and all.  Nancy came up with the great idea of each of us picking a different chef for each month, all of us making anything we each selected to make from that chef's recipes, taking a photo of our efforts, and using that photo as our avatar for that month.  April's avatar chef is Jacques Pepin, chosen by Di. 

      The recipe I chose is from a website called The Complete Pepin Techniques and Recipes and is entitled Hard Cooked Eggs in Mustard Sauce. You can find the recipe there (it is number 37 in the index provided):  click here.

      As I was scanning the list of recipes I knew I would have no trouble choosing something to make from the list as so much of it looked great.  In the end, I decided on the hard cooked eggs recipe because it is the season of hard cooked eggs, with Easter approaching and all, and Matt still likes to dye Easter eggs, so I figured it would be nice to have a recipe ready for the onslaught of hard boiled eggs this month. 

      Besides seasonal, easy, photogenic, and delicious, I also enjoyed learning a new technique for hard cooking the eggs that he describes in the recipe...I had never done it that way before.  It works nicely, the shells slip off easily, the eggs were perfectly done, and it was easy.  I'm doing hard cooked eggs this way from now on. 

      The mustard sauce is easy and perfect with the eggs.  Ingredient list:  eggs, garlic, Dijon mustard, pepper, salt, wine vinegar, canola oil, lettuce, and chives. 

      It's simple, easy, no fancy ingredients that are hard to locate, and now I have one very tasty salad recipe to add to my list...one especially good for Easter dinner.  Go check out the site, even though Jacques Pepin is a fancy French chef, there are recipes on there that are simple, elegant, and that teach you new techniques which will make your time in the kitchen more pleasant.  The next one I am going to make is the one for Swiss Chard Stuffed Onions as I never ever know what to do with Swiss Chard. 

Twitter Chef Avatar Fun: Emeril Lagasse's Andouille and Chicken Jambalaya

      We are having a bit of avatar fun over at Twitter, my baking/cooking pals and I, just to shake things up a bit and confuse everyone each month as to who is who and all.  Nancy came up with the great idea of each of us picking a different chef for each month, all of us making anything we each selected to make from that chef's recipes, taking a photo of our efforts, and using that photo as our avatar for that month. 

      March's avatar chef is Emeril Lagasse, chosen by Margaret.  The recipe I chose is from Emeril's Real and Rustic Cookbook and is Andouille and Chicken Jambalaya. You can also find the recipe on Emeril's site:  click here.  It's simple, easy, no fancy ingredients that are hard to locate, and was a big hit here with everyone.  Bam!

Twitter Chef Avatar Fun: James Beard's Shrimp Mornay

      We are having a bit of avatar fun over at Twitter, my baking/cooking pals and I, just to shake things up a bit and confuse everyone each month as to who is who and all.  Nancy came up with the great idea of each of us picking a different chef for each month, all of us making anything we each selected to make from that chef's recipes, taking a photo of our efforts, and using that photo as our avatar for that month. 

      February's avatar chef is James Beard, chosen by Nancy.  The recipe I chose is from The James Beard Cookbook and is Shrimp Mornay. 

Shrimp Mornay

(Serves 4) 

2 pounds of shrimp
 2 cups of Mornay Sauce
 Butter Buttered Crumbs
 Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

  Boil the shrimp
 Make Sauce Mornay (recipe follows)
  Heap the shrimp into a buttered serving dish, top with Mornay sauce, buttered bread crumbs, and Parmesan Cheese
  Place under broiler to brown a little

  Mornay Sauce
  4 Tablespoons of Butter
 4 Tablespoons of Flour
 2 Cups of Milk
 Salt & Pepper
 Additional 4 Tablespoons of Butter
 1/2-1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

  Melt the butter
Blend in the flour
 Pour in the milk slowly and stir until thickened
 Add additional 4 Tablespoons of butter and 1/2-1 Cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Stir until thick and well blended

      This was absolutely delicious, the sauce is easy to make and just perfectly wonderful.  Nancy suggested that I play into the February Valentine's Day theme by trying to make a heart with the shrimp in the recipe, so I tried to do that on the top, one shrimp heart to top it all off.  Thanks, Nancy, for the James Beard pick and the shrimp heart idea, I am really going to enjoy making James Beard recipes this month. 
      Next month it's Margaret's turn to pick and her chef of choice is Emeril Lagasse.

Twitter Chef Avatar Fun: Thomas Keller Ad Hoc Marinated Feta with Olives

      We are having a bit of avatar fun over at Twitter, my baking/cooking pals and I, just to shake things up a bit and confuse everyone each month as to who is who and all. 

      Last year we played around with bread avatars as it was the Year of Bread.  We were all learning how to bake all kinds of breads, and although that will continue through this year, we decided to change up the avatars each month.  Nancy came up with the great idea of each of us picking a different chef for each month, all of us making anything we each selected to make from that chef's recipes, taking a photo of our efforts, and using that photo as our avatar for that month.  (Great idea, we have come to depend on Nancy for great ideas.)  This way we can all explore some chefs that we may have never had the opportunity to cook from before. 

      I got to pick the first month and chose chef Thomas Keller as I received Ad Hoc for a Christmas present.  That meant I had just a few days to cook something from this huge tome containing some pretty fancy and daunting recipes. 

      What to do?  Answer:  Find something quick, simple, delicious, and worthy of a good photo for the avatar.  It was not difficult, the great chef had just the thing on page 74, called Marinated Feta with Olives.  Feta? Olives?  No need of any further convincing, I was IN! 

      All you need for the recipe is feta cheese, assorted olives, good olive oil, rosemary, thyme, chives, and a piquillo pepper.  (If you want the exact measurements, you will need to buy the book because right now, that's between TK, me, and whoever else owns the book.) 

      Check in next month, it's Nancy's turn and her chef of choice is James Beard.