Holiday Asparagus

2 bunches asparagus, bases trimmed off
1 lemon, sliced
2 eggs, hardboiled
2 Tbsp diced red pepper
2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp capers
Sea salt to taste

Steam the asparagus until just still crisp tender, about 3-5 minutes.  Arrange on a serving platter.  Quarter one of the eggs and arrange on the center.  Chop remaining egg and sprinkle on top of asparagus. Arrange lemon slices on top of asparagus, and sprinkle capers about asparagus.  Whisk together the vinegar, lemon juice and oil and pour dressing over asparagus.  Sprinkle with sea salt.

Eggplant Roulades with Tomato Coulis

Two large eggplants, thinly sliced lengthwise, 1/4-inch
2 5-oz packages Boursin cheese, softened to room temperature
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 clove garlic, peeled
1-1/4 cup olive oil

Heat grill.  Brush the eggplant slices with a thin coating of olive on one side. Grill eggplant slices, oil side down until just browned.  Flip and grill other side until lightly browned.  Set eggplant aside on a platter to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the tomato coulis by placing the tomato paste, garlic and oil in a small food processor.  Blend until smooth, and turn out into a serving bowl.

Evenly divide the Boursin cheese, spreading it lightly onto the eggplant slices.  Roll up the eggplant slices and top with a bit of sauce.  Serve with the remaining sauce on the side. Serves 4-6 as appetizer.

Cook's note: Eggplants vary widely in size, so the number of slices will vary.

Tomato Coulis

This is a fantastically simple cold tomato sauce, taught to us by a caterer in Provence.  I couldn't believe her until I actually tried it.  This would even impress The Minimalist - Mark Bittman!  Use your best extra-virgin olive oil!

1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 clove garlic, peeled
1-1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Place the tomato paste, garlic and oil in a small food processor.  Blend until smooth, and turn out into a serving bowl.  Serve at room temperature.

Christmas Pork Roulade Roast with Boursin

 1 4-5-lb boneless pork loin roast
1 11-oz package baby spinach
1 cup jarred roasted red pepper, drained and chopped coarsely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 5-oz round of Boursin cheese, brought to room temperature
1/2 cup red wine

Using your sharpest knife, butterfly the pork roast lengthwise to about 1/2-inch.  Using a meat mallet, pound the butterflied roast to even the thickness, which should be about 3/8-1/2 inch. The flattened meat should measure roughly 9x13-inches to 10x14-inches.

Preheat oven to 375F.  Quickly sauté the spinach in a bit of olive oil in a large skillet, until well wilted, and most all of the moisture is cooked off.  Lay the spinach evenly on top of the meat.  Distribute the red pepper and the Boursin over the spinach.  Sprinkle evenly with the garlic.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Roll the meat up, starting at one of the sort ends.  Tie up roast with Butcher's twine to secure roll and place in a roasting pan.  Spray with oil, salt and pepper lightly, and roast for about 20 minutes per pound, until a thermometer reads 140F.  Remove from oven, and set roast on cutting board.  Cover with aluminum foil, and let rest for 20 minutes. Roast should rise 3-5 degrees while resting.

Meanwhile place roasting pan on stove and bring juices to a boil.  Add wine and water if its a very dry pan, scrape up brown bits.  Strain jus if necessary into a serving boat.  After roast has rested, slice roast and serve with jus on the side.

Roasted Garlic Tomato and Red Pepper Soup with Tofu

A nice dish for the holidays to warm you up.

3 red peppers, sliced
4 large fresh, ripe tomatoes, cut in wedges
2 heads garlic
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 package soft tofu, cubed into bite-sized pieces
1 quart stock chicken (or vegetable) stock
1 cup half and half or light cream
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 450F.  Toss the peppers with a tablespoon olive oil and tip into a rimmed baking sheet.  Do the same for the tomatoes onto a separate baking sheet. Cut the top quarter inch off each head garlic with a sharp knife.  Place each head on a small sheet of aluminum  foil, top with a tablespoon olive oil, and wrap tightly with foil.  Place garlic heads among the peppers and place both sheets into the oven.  Roast for 30 minutes, turning the peppers over halfway through.

Meanwhile, sauté the onions in a soup pot in a bit of olive oil, cooking slowly to brown and caramelize nicely while the veggies roast in the oven.  Once roasted, remove the peppers and tomatoes and tip into the soup pot with the onions.  Unwrap the garlic and allow to cool just enough to handle.  Squeeze the roasted cloves into the soup pot.  Add the stock, cream and red pepper flakes, and bring to a boil.  Stir and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook another 15 minutes or so.

Pour soup contents into a food mill and purée, leaving the skins behind.  ( if you don't have a food mill, you might want to peel the tomatoes and peppers beforehand, and use an emersion blender to purée). Return soup to pot, add the sugar, salt and butter and stir to combine while reheating soup.

Distribute tofu evenly among four soup bowls, ladle hot soup over tofu.  Top with parsley.  Serve with crusty bread.  Serves four.

To Die For, End of the World Spaghetti Bolognese, and I Feel Fine

I heard an expert on the radio yesterday tell us that the Mayans actually didn't ever predict that today was to be the end of the world.

Oh well.

And I was all prepared with my last supper which would be spaghetti and sauce.  Putanesca, Marinara, Fra Diavolo; name your favorite.  Here is one of mine: Bolognese - tomato, beef and sausage.  Our son came home for the holidays and his favorite is mine - so here is something worth living for - sorry Mayan hysterics.

Since the world didn't end today, go ahead and enjoy this wonderful, warming winter meal knowing that today, Winter Solstice, actually marks the day after which daylight is only getting longer - Wahoo!

10-oz fresh mushrooms, thickly sliced
1 large onion, diced
1 lb. Italian sausage, cut up
1 lb ground beef (preferably grass-fed)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp herbes de Provence (or Italian herbs)
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 32-oz can crushed tomatoes
2 14.5-oz cans petite diced tomatoes
1/3 cup red wine
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup cream sherry

Heat a tablespoon olive oil in a 4 qt soup pot.  Add the mushrooms and turn heat to high.  Cook the mushrooms, stirring often, until they release their water, dry up and begin to brown nicely.  Once browned, set aside in a large bowl. 

In the same pot, sauté the onions over medium heat in a bit of olive oil, until they begin to caramelize, about 10 minutes.  Add the sausage and beef and cook about another 10 minutes, until the meats are browned.  Add the garlic, pepper and herbs and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Stir the tomato paste into the pot and cook to slightly caramelize the tomato paste, about 3-5 minutes. 

Add the crushed and diced tomatoes along with the wine.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well while bringing to a boil.  Turn heat to low, stir, and cook uncovered for 15 minutes and then covered for at least 30-45 minutes.  Stir every 10 minutes or so.

Frankly Great Paella

Everywhere you travel in Europe, you see sausage.  And many sausages - whether in Paella, Cassoulet, Choucroutte, or at breakfast look just like frankfurters.  That's because basically, they are.  Classically the 'Frankfurter Wurstchen' from Frankfurt, Germany, is a smoked pork sausage prized for its simple, homogeneous form and deep smoked flavor.  Served and accepted for centuries in Germany and throughput Europe, they are a common sausage, still today.

Unfortunately, here in the USA, they have been denigrated, and segregated from other sausages as inferior.  That's probably only because of some unfortunate manufacturers, but actually, there are many great frankfurters (hot dogs!) around.  Don't just use them in a bun - think sausage, and use them in dishes, but only good ones.  If you are concerned about sodium or fat, use them only as an accent, as I do here in Paella.

I love them.  OK there - I said it.

3/4 cup short grain rice (I used brown)
1/4 cup pearl barley
1 lb best franks you can find
1 leek, cleaned and diced
1 carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds (or powder)
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup green olives
1/4 cup black olives
1 dozen whole peeled shrimp
palmful fresh parsley or cilantro, minced

In a large oven-goin skillet or paella pan, saute the rice, barley, franks, leek and carrot in about 2 tablespoons canola oil.  Stir very often to make sure the rice does not burn, cooking for about 5 minutes or until the rice transitions from transparent to translucent.  Add the garlic and cumin and cook another 2-3 minutes, stirring almost constantly.

Carefully add the broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a gentle simmer, stir, cover, and cook about 20 minutes, until the broth is absorbed.  Toss in the shrimp and olives, cover and cook another 5 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the shrimp are cooked through.  Sprinkle with parsley or cilantro and serve.  Serves 4.

Turkey-day Leftover Shepherd's Pie

Thanksgiving weekend is casserole Nirvana.  Family just pulled away from the driveway?  All-in-all a good visit, considering? How to use the leftovers?

This is a great, flexible left-over Thanksgiving casserole.  I even make it with turkey leftovers I freeze - so post Thanksgiving weekend lasts longer.  But Christmas is coming so gotta use leftovers up, because more are coming!  This can be customized to whatever fun bits you have leftover.

2 Tbsp butter & 2 Tbsp olive oil
1 orange pepper, diced
3 green onions, sliced
1 crown broccoli, diced, about 2 cups
1 cup corn kernels

Sauce:
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk

About 2 cups mashed potatoes
1/4 cup half and half or cream
1/2 cup shredded cheese of choice (such as Cheddar, Gouda or Swiss)
2 cups cooked, cubed turkey
1 14.5-oz jar artichoke with stems (I use Trader Joe's), drained

Preheat oven to 375F.  Sauté the pepper, onions, broccoli and whatever other veggies you have (about 4 cups) in the butter and olive oil for about 8-10 minutes, until the veggies are softened and beginning to caramelize. Meanwhile stir together the mashed potatoes, half and half and cheese in a bowl.  The mixture should be decidedly wet and creamy; if not, add a bit of milk or more half and half.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by melting the butter and oil in a saucepan.  Stir in the flour and cook until the mixture bubbles but only just begins to brown, about 5 minutes.  Add the milk and bring just to a gentle boil while whisking and cook until thickened.  Cover and reduce heat to very low.

Oil a 13x9-inch casserole and scatter turkey and artichokes about the bottom.  Distribute sautéed veggies on top, and pour cream sauce over veggies.  Gently Smooth the mashed potatoes as a topping over the veggies.  Place casserole in oven and cook 45-60 minutes, until top begins to brown and casserole is bubbly.

Beijing Noodles in Shanghai

We thoroughly enjoyed the noodles in Beijing this last week.  Had them both wet and dry. Shanghai noodles are typically drier, almost a lo-mein, but we had brothy noodles as well...  Love them wet and dry, no matter what!

Hot brothy noodles were welcome and warming, after frigid temps on the Great wall!

Last year traveling from Shanghai through Guangzhou to Shenzhen, we tasted noodles all along the way - a million varieties. 

In Shanghai, the 'Noodle Man' was there every day at the Renaissance Hotel making noodles, noon and night, by hand.  Throughout the two week visit, we got to know him - he was good.  Noodles, broth, meat and herbs.  You can vary these as you wish.  He made his noodles fresh and always with a smile!  While the dish Shanghai Noodles tend to be drier and saucey, these noodles were served in a broth with meat and vegetables - something we relished often in the frigid cold of Beijing this time around.

There are many ways to make this so don't be shy at swapping veggies; cabbage for bok choy or green onion for snow peas.  Make it your own.

1/2 lb. boneless country rib pork, thinly sliced1 carrot, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered, lengthwise
1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, very thinly sliced
1 quart good beef broth
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Chinese sweetened black vinegar, or Balsmaic vinegar
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2-3 stalks Bok Choy, chopped
4-6 oz fresh snow peas
1/2 lb Chinese flat noodles
toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Heat a tablespoon canola or peanut oil in a 3-4 quart pot and brown the pork for about 5 minutes.  Set pork aside in a bowl.  Add the carrot and sauté for 5 minutes.  Add the ginger and garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Add the broth, soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil to the pot.  Return the pork to the pot and bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, cook noodles until al-dente.  Drain and divide among 4 bowls.  Add the snow peas and bok choy to the soup and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and ladle soup onto noodles.  Top with sesame seeds.

Lamb Stew with Dried Sweet Cranberries and Dates

3-4 lb boneless lamb, cubed
1 28-35 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 large Vidalia onion, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dried pitted dates, chopped
1/3 cup dried cranberries (Craisins)
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 stick cinnamon, or 1/4 tsp powdered cinnamon

In a large Dutch oven, sear the lamb cubes in about 3-4 batches, in a bit of canola or peanut oil (high smoke level oil - NOT olive).  Salt and pepper lamb to taste.  Set lamb aside in a bowl when browned. 

Add the onions, celery and carrot to the pot and brown for about 8-10 minutes, over medium heat, until veggies are well softened, and a bit caramelized.  Add the garlic, rosemary and red pepper flakes, and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Return the lamb to the pot and the remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat, cover, and let cook for about an hour.  Check stew, and taste after stirring.  Add some more chicken broth if too thick.  Remove cinnamon stick, and tip into a serving bowl.  Serve over couscous, rice, or egg noodles.

Serves 6-8.