Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

I had some Israeli couscous in my pantry and decided to make a salad with it.  Searching the web, I found this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis.  I’m so glad that I did.  It has a complex but refreshing taste.  The vinaigrette has maple syrup in it which pairs well with the apples and cranberries in the salad.  Couscous is such a blank canvas when it comes to taste.  Anything that you add to it will become the star.  But Israeli couscous with its large pearly grain makes its presence known.

This is the perfect salad to bring to any Labor Day cook out.  I know that I will be making it again this weekend while the family is here.  It is easy and flavorful.  Enjoy your Labor Day weekend and summer’s last hurrah.

COUSCOUS WITH APPLES, CRANBERRIES AND HERBS  (Adapted from Giada De Lauentiis)

Couscous:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups Israeli couscous
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves ( I used chopped chives)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 medium apple, diced
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

For the couscous;  In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil on medium-high heat.  Add the couscous and cook, stirring occasionally until slightly browned and aromatic, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated.  Transfer the cooked couscous to a large bowl and set aside to cool.  Add the parsley, rosemary, thyme, apple, dried cranberries and almonds.

For the vinaigrette;  In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, maple syrup, salt, and pepper.  Whisk in the olive oil until smooth.  Pour the vinaigrette over the couscous and toss to coat evenly.

Printable recipe

The rain continues this summer.  It made me want to get out my crock pot and make something comforting.  Also, after having that wonderful meal at the other Penny’s home, which included marsala pears cooked in the crock pot from a recipe in The Italian Slow Cooker, I purchased the book myself.   The first recipe that the book fell open to was this spicy Tuscan sausage ragu.  It said ” This thick, rich sauce is heavenly on chunky cuts of pasta, such as rigatoni or rotelle.”  That’s all of the incentive I needed.

I just let the sausages bubble away in the tomato sauce for about five hours then added cream to the mixture and cooked it for another hour.  The cream gave the sauce a nice richness and took away much of the acidic flavor of the tomatoes.

With a few shavings of grated Parmesan cheese on top this made for a hearty and heady bowl of pasta.  Just what I was craving.

Guess what I am looking at in this picture.  It will be the subject of my next post.

SPICY TUSCAN SAUSAGE RAGU

Makes 10 cups

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian pork sausage, casings removed
1/2 pound hot Italian pork sausage, casings removed
1 large red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 28-ounce can Italian peeled tomatoes with their juice, chopped
1 28-ounce can tomato puree
Salt
1 cup heavy cream

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Crumble the sausages into the pan and cook, stirring frequently to break up the  lumps, until the meat is lightly browned.  Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is tender.

Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the skillet.  Pour the contents into the slow cooker.  Add the tomatoes, puree, and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.  Stir in the cream and cook for 1 hour more, or until the meat is very tender.  Taste for seasoning.

Printable recipe

This has been the strangest summer.  The rain has been non-stop.  The oak trees surrounding our house have dripped and weeped constantly.  The flower pots have overflowed resulting in rotting plants with no hope of recovery.  The herb garden is not doing well. But the two hydrangea plants that I put in place are thriving.  I keep asking myself why this summer is so different.  By this time in the year we are usually hot and dry.  Not so this year.

I took this picture last week.  The low hanging clouds are obvious, as are the drips of water clinging to our screen.  The porch was gloomy and not at all inviting.  But this week the weather has improved and we felt that summer had returned to the lake.

It was a pleasure to fire up the grill and enjoy dinner on the porch.

 One of my favorite ways to cook chicken breasts is by cubing them and putting them on skewers with peppers and pineapple chunks.  The peppers and pineapple chunks are marinated in one bag and the chicken in another bag.  The marinade is a combination of soy sauce, mirin and sugar.  Mirin is rice wine and an ingredient in teriyaki sauce.  The marinade from the pineapple and peppers is used to baste the skewers as they cook.

It was good to have this summertime favorite from the grill as the sun was setting in the west.  I served it over a bed of rice pilaf.  I have blogged about this recipe before, but it was at least two years ago.  So here it is again in case you missed it the first time.  That time I served it with an orange and rice salad.  You can find the orange and rice recipe here.

TERIYAKI CHICKEN SKEWERS

Makes 3 servings (can easily be doubled)
3 boneless chicken breast halves cut into 2″ squares
1 green pepper, cut into 1″ squares
1 red pepper, cut into 1″ squares
1/2 fresh pineapple, cut into 1″ squares
2 Tbls sugar
4 Tbls Soy Sauce
4 Tbls Mirin (sweetened sake) If you can’t find this, eliminate the soy and use 8 Tbls teriyaki sauce
6 wooden skewers, soaked in water

Place chicken pieces (you should have 18 pieces) in one large baggie. Place pepper and pineapple pieces in another baggie. Mix sugar, soy and mirin (or teriyaki sauce) in small sauce pan and heat just until sugar dissolves. Cool. Pour half of marinade over chicken and the other half over the peppers and pineapple. Marinate for 1 to 2 hours.

Thread ingredients on six wooden skewers alternating. You should have three each of red pepper, pineapple, chicken and green pepper.

Prepare grill. It should be hot. Spray grill with oil and grill the skewers turning as needed and basting with the marinade from the veggies and pineapple, until chicken is cooked, approximately 10 minutes.

Printable recipe

My friend Penny of The Comforts of Home and From Harvest to Table is a multi-talented lady.  Not only has she turned her new home into a beautiful place to live by painting, sewing, digging in the dirt and creative decorating, but she is also an accomplished and creative cook.  This past weekend David and I had the pleasure of dining with Penny and her hubby.  The menu was posted in her kitchen.

We were seated in her cozy kitchen nook and enjoyed the crostini and brushetta while she stirred the risotto and we all had a chance to chat. It is fun to watch the hostess put the finishing touches on a meal.  It is smart though to have a place for your guests to sit well out of the way of the action.  Sometimes it is easy to get distracted when people are leaning over your shoulder and messing in your space.  Penny has the perfect set up.

Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the appetizers.  But they were just perfect with a glass of crisp white wine.

I cannot say enough about the Creamy Corn Risotto with grilled shrimp and truffle oil.  This is a perfect summer dish.  All of the flavors of fresh corn are extracted from the ears.  The cobs are used to make a stock and the corn kernels are used in both a puree and a saute.  The risotto is creamy and full of the flavor of corn.  The shrimp with truffle oil is just simply the perfect embellishment to the dish.  I can see why Penny said “there were a lot of mmms going on from her friends” when she first made this because we were doing it too.  We all ate our dishes with a big spoon and I scraped my bowl clean.

Ah, Poached Pears in Marsala wine with English Stilton Cheese.  This was such an elegant dish and believe it our not it was made in a crock pot.  Simple elegance. Ah, Poached Pears in Marsala wine with English Stilton Cheese. This was such an elegant dish and believe it or not, it was made in a crock pot—simple elegance.

Penny and I both have The French Slow Cooker cookbook by Michele Scicolone which we love.  But she also bought the Italian Slow Cooker and this recipe came from that book.  It is a no fail easy way to poach pears and the rich sauce and bleu cheese complemented it perfectly.  I have a feeling Penny will have the recipe on her From Harvest to Table website soon so be sure to go over there to view it.  Here is her recipe for the risotto.  It might seem long but it can be done in stages and each component held in the fridge until the final cooking of the risotto.

This is a perfect dinner party menu.  I hope you give it a try.  Thanks Penny.

CREAMY CORN RISOTTO WITH GRILLED SHRIMP AND TRUFFLE OIL

RECIPE (serves 6)

Corn Stock

• 6 ears corn, husked
• 1 small onion, peeled and quartered
• 2 celery stalks, halved lengthwise
• 1 leek (white and light green part only), cut into 1-inch pieces

Corn Purée and Sauté

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 3 fresh thyme sprigs

Risotto

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 cups Arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup grated Sartori Stravecchio cheese (or another domestic Parmesan  cheese)

Shrimp

• 24 peeled and de-veined shrimp
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon truffle oil
• 2 medium summer truffles, very thinly sliced (optional)

Make the Corn Stock

Using a large chef’s knife, cut the corn kernels off the cobs and set aside.  Place the cobs in a large stockpot along with the onion, celery, and chopped  leek. Add 10 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat  and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain the corn stock through a fine-mesh  strainer into a bowl. Discard the solids. You should have at least 6 cups of  stock.

Make the Corn Purée

Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium saucepan over  medium heat until the butter begins to foam. Add the onion and garlic and sauté  until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup of the reserved corn  kernels, season to taste with salt and pepper, and continue to cook over low  heat, stirring constantly, until the kernels begin to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add the cream, thyme, and 1 cup of the corn stock and continue to simmer over  low heat until the mixture begins to thicken, about 10 minutes. Remove the thyme  and purée the mixture in a blender until smooth.

Sauté the Corn

Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium sauté pan over  medium-high heat. Add the remaining corn kernels and sauté until the corn is  tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Make the Risotto

Heat the olive oil in a large wide saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion  and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir  to coat with the oil. Add the wine and reduce the heat to a simmer until most of  the wine has evaporated. Add 1 cup of the corn stock to the pan and continue to  cook, stirring constantly, until most of the stock is absorbed. Repeat the  process with the remaining 4 cups of corn stock, making sure the stock has been  fully incorporated after each addition before adding more. Once the rice is  tender yet firm to the bite, remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the corn  purée, sautéed corn, and grated cheese and season to taste with salt and  pepper.

Prepare The Shrimp

Preheat a gas grill to high.  Lightly brush the peeled and de-veined shrimp with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.  Place on grill and cook until pink, about 2 minutes per side.

To Serve

Divide the risotto among 6 warm bowls. Arrange 4 shrimp atop each bowl of risotto. Drizzle with the truffle oil and garnish with sliced summer  truffles, if desired.

We are fortunate to be spending some time with our family in Cary this week.  Kristen and Michael receive a CSA box regularly with all that is in season from the local farmers.  The above photo shows some of the fruits and vegetables that were in last week’s box.  They received fresh blueberries, peaches, heirloom cherry tomatoes, two small watermelons, fresh sweet corn, cucumbers and sweet onions.

Kristen made two salsas to go with our freshly caught (cornmeal dusted) grouper.  The first one was a watermelon and blueberry salsa that also incorporated the cherry tomatoes.  The second one was a peach and mango salsa with a bit of heat from a jalapeno pepper.  When asked which was our favorite, none of us could declare either one the winner.  That was because both were winners in their own way.

Not only is Kristen a great cook, but her brother David (as in “restaurant chef”) came to dinner also and offered great tips on how to cook the grouper properly.  It was cooked to perfection with a light dusting of cornmeal before being fried on one side, flipped and finished in the oven.  What a beautiful plate of food with all of the bounty of summer upon it.  Enjoy these  salsas with any of your favorite main courses.

4 small Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped (we used heirloom cherry tomatoes)
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 jalapeno, chopped (discard seeds for a milder salsa)
1 cup diced watermelon
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons lime juice (from 1 lime)
1/4 teaspoon salt