Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

This is one of the easiest side dishes that you will make this holiday season.  It is perfect for a crowd, simple to assemble, pretty to look at and tasty to eat.  It uses quality frozen broccoli florets, canned cream style corn, eggs and a stuffing topping.  It is a recipe that has been in my files here in Florida.  I have no idea where it came from, but I made it a lot when we first moved here.  We had company often and this was a breeze to serve.

The eggs, mixed with the creamed corn, make a light custard that binds the broccoli florets together.  The topping can be anything you would like, but the recipe calls for herb flavored stuffing crumbs.  But get creative.  You can add shredded cheese to the corn mixture and the top.  You can use cracker crumbs moistened with butter or any herbs that you like.  The broccoli stays green while it bakes.  I changed the cooking time down because the hour that it called for is way to long.

I plan on serving this several times during the holidays.  It will go well with a roasted whole filet of beef for our New Years Eve celebration along with twice baked potatoes.  Or how about with my easy Apricot Chicken Breasts with Almonds.  Wild rice would be a good accompaniment.

I love having no fail, easy recipes during the holidays.

BROCCOLI CORN CASSEROLE

2 bags frozen broccoli florets, 16 ounce each, thawed and drained or patted dry
2 cans cream-style corn
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup herb-seasoned stuffing crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix corn and beaten eggs together in large bowl.  Add broccoli.  Place in ungreased 3 quart casserole or rectangular 13 x 9 inch baking dish.  Mix butter and stuffing.  Sprinkle evenly over vegetables.  Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes.  8 servings.

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In French this tart is called Flamiche Aux Poireaux.  It is popular north of Paris in the villages of the Picardy region.  It is different from a quiche in that the emphasis is more on the vegetables than on the custard.  In this case leeks play a starring role.  It is also studded with Parma ham (Prosciutto) and Gruyere cheese.

This was a perfect Sunday supper to enjoy on the lanai on a warm Florida evening.  The first few days back in Florida always feel like a vacation; warm breezes, sunny skies and catching up with friends.  The food choices are different too.  The local Publix carries a wider selection of meats and vegetables than does the Ingles at home.  So getting good quality prosciutto for this tart was not a problem.  The leeks were another story.  They are very expensive right now.  The recipe that I was following came from Patricia Wells and she recommends three pounds of leeks.  The leeks at the supermarket were 2.99 a pound and that seemed excessive to me when I had to buy expensive prosciutto and expensive Gruyere cheese.  So I cheated a little and bought 2 pounds of leeks and added a large onion to the mix.

So being still in vacation mode, I made the tart, tossed the salad, poured the wine and sat on our sunny lanai and ignored the mold on the concrete and the weeds growing in our planters.  There is time for pressure washing and new plantings later.  This tart is worthy of a glorious relaxing evening.

LEEK AND PROSCIUTTO TART (Adapted from Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells)

1 recipe Pate Brisee or pie crust of your choice
12 small leeks (about 3 pounds) or a mixture of 2 pounds leeks and 1 large onion
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1/4 cup creme fraiche or heavy cream
3 to 4 ounces sliced Parma ham (prosciutto), coarsely chopped
1 cup freshly grated imported Gruyere cheese

Prepare the pastry shell:  Roll out the dough to line a 9-inch tart pan.  Carefully transfer the dough to the pan.  Chill for 30 minutes, or until firm.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Prepare the filling:  Trim the leeks at the root.  Cut off and discard the fibrous, dark green portion.  Split the leeks lengthwise for easier cleaning, and rinse well in cold water until no grit appears.  Coarsely chop the leeks.  If using an onion, coarsely chop it also.

Melt the butter in a medium-size saucepan over low heat.  Add the leeks and onion if using, salt, and pepper to taste and cook, covered, until the leeks are very soft but not browned, about 20 minutes.  If the leeks have given up an excessive amount of liquid, drain them in a colander.

Combine the eggs and cream in a medium-size bowl and mix until throughly blended.  Add the leeks and mix again.  Reserve 1/4 cup each of the ham and the cheese to sprinkle on top of the tart.  Mix the rest into the leek mixture.

Pour the leek mixture into the prepared pastry shell.  Sprinkle with the reserved ham, and then the cheese.  Season generously with freshly ground black pepper.

Bake until nicely browned, 40 to 45 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  6 to 8 servings.

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I created this quintessential version of British pub fare out of necessity.  I had leftover mashed potatoes and a half of a head of Savoy cabbage just waiting in the crisper.  The British dish of bubble and squeak is said to have been named after the sounds that the potato and cabbage mixture makes as it sautes.  Our trip to England a few years ago was an impressive experience on many levels.  But the food was not one of them.   However there are many dishes that the British do well.  I love Jamie Oliver’s Steak and Guinness Pie that I blogged about here.  I did a French version of Shepherd’s pie on this post.  Bangers and Mash are right up my alley.  And now I can wholeheartedly recommend Bubble and Squeak.

What is not to love about buttery mashed potatoes paired with sauteed cabbage.  If you leave it in the skillet for a while it will develop a nice brown crisp exterior.  I did not cook my mixture to a crisp, but loved the way that it is easy to mold it into a round disc of goodness.  The cabbage lightens the potatoes without being intrusive.  As a matter of fact, I would call this a perfect marriage of ingredients.

This went particularly well with the pork roast I had made.  British food may not be my favorite cuisine, but you have to give them credit for their imaginative food names.  How many of the following can you identify:  Sussex heavies, brewis, covach, water souchy, buckings, solloghan, whipped syllabub, oon, rumbledethumps, inky pinky, baps, haggamuggie, snoodie, clod, claggaum fadge, blaaad, curlie-murlies, or fairy butter?  For now, I am sticking to bubble and squeak.

So bubble, bubble, toil and trouble.  Happy Halloween everyone.  The above picture was taken at a recent visit to Replacements LTD, a wonderful warehouse and showroom for your favorite china patterns and more.

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK (Adapted from Gourmet Magazine)

1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 pound Savoy cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Cover potatoes with cold salted water and bring to a boil, then boil, uncovered, until tender when pierced with a sharp knife, about 18 minutes.  Drain in a colander.

Heat butter in a 10-inch heavy nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then saute cabbage with salt and pepper, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add potatoes, mashing and stirring them into cabbage while leaving some lumps and pressing to form a cake.

Cook, without stirring, until underside is crusty and golden, about 10 minutes.

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Thomas Keller’s French Laundry restaurant in Napa Valley is among the top 50 best restaurants in the world.  He has won many awards and has established several other restaurants in his illustrious career.  Among them are Bouchon in Yountville, California, Per se in New York City and his more humble establishment, ad hoc, also in Yountville, where a different fixed price comfort dinner is served every night.  I own both his French Laundry Cookbook and his ad hoc at home cookbook.  My favorite is the ad hoc cookbook for obvious reasons.  The recipes are more approachable and simpler in conception.  But they still have the Thomas Keller style.

There is a depth of flavor to all of his recipes because he takes the time to make it happen.

In the case of the split pea soup, he starts by steaming carrots, onions and leeks with a parchment paper lid.  The vegetables are cooked long enough to release lots of flavor.

Chicken broth and a ham hock are added to the vegetables and are simmered gently.  The soup is strained and then the split peas are added.  By this time the broth is full of flavor.

The finishing touches are fresh peas, creme fraiche and mint.  The soup is so nuanced; a smooth rich pureed base, chunks of ham, bright peas, rich cream and fresh mint.  This is a well thought out rendition of split pea soup and I am definitely a Thomas Keller fan.

SPLIT PEA SOUP THOMAS KELLER STYLE

• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 2 c thinly sliced carrots
• 2 c coarsely chopped leeks
• 2 c coarsely chopped onions
• Kosher salt
• 1 smoked ham hock (about 1 pound)
• 3 quarts chicken stock
• 1 pound split peas (about 2 cups) , small stones removed, rinsed
• 1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 c peas, either fresh or frozen
• 1/2 c crème fraîche
• Mint leaves

Heat oil in large stockpot/dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the carrots, leeks, onions and a generous pinch of salt.  Reduce the heat to low, cover with a parchment lid and cook very slowly, stirring occasionally, for 34-40 minutes, until vegetables are tender.  Remove and discard the parchment lid.

Sitting at our table on the porch last night, eating this soup was a transcendental experience.  Sometimes there is a combination of ingredients that raise the bar for flavor.  This is one of those dishes.  Anytime you roast vegetables you release great flavor.  In this case the vegetable was cauliflower. The humble head of cauliflower can be turned into a delicious soup.  The original recipe is a winner on the Food 52 website.  The creator of the soup is Bogre, a guy from Connecticut with Hungarian roots; thus the use of smoked paprika in the dish.  The cauliflower is first roasted with the smoked paprika and cumin and then pureed with chicken stock.  This hearty base is then enhanced with sausages and either mustard greens or kale.

I made some substitutions to the original recipe.  A Trader Joe’s has opened in our area, for which I am eternally grateful.  I used their pre-washed Tuscan kale and their brand of turkey kielbasa.  Also I did not have any smoked paprika so substituted regular paprika.  However you tinker with this soup, you will still end up with a winner.  I plan to use cauliflower again as a base for creamy soups.  It has less calories than potatoes, but still imparts a rich, rib sticking goodness.

CAULIFLOWER, KALE AND SAUSAGE SOUP

Serves 6 to 8

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