Cauliflower, Kale and Sausage Soup

October 17th, 2013

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

 

  • 2pounds cauliflower florets (from 1 medium head)
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground cumin, or to taste
  • 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika (I used regular paprika)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil (plus extra for roasting)
  • 1 Spanish onion, chopped
  • 4 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 8 cups chicken stock
  • 1/2 pound smoked turkey kielbasa, sliced (Wellshire Farms brand is particularly good) – I used Trader Joe’s Smoked Turkey Kielbasa
  • 1 bunch mustard greens, shredded – I used Tuscan Kale
  • 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Toss cauliflower florets with cumin, smoked paprika, and liberal amounts of salt, pepper, and olive oil. Spread in a single layer in a roasting pan or baking dish and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.
  2. Remove florets and set aside. Deglaze the roasting pan with 1 cup of the chicken stock, stirring to scrape up browned bits. Mix in with the remaining stock.
  3. Sauté the onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil (In a large stock pot) over medium-medium high heat until tender and translucent and beginning to brown. Add garlic and pepper flakes and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add cauliflower and stock and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer about an hour. Remove from heat and purée.  I used an immersion blender.
  4. Return the puréed soup to low heat. Add sausage and cook about 10 minutes. (You can brown the sausage beforehand if you like.) Add the mustard greens and parsley and simmer another 5 to 10 minutes until the greens soften a bit. Remove from heat. Stir in the cilantro and the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with a sprinkle of smoked paprika and a drizzle of olive oil.

Printable recipe

 

 

Fullsteam Beer Dinner at Herons

October 13th, 2013

One of the premier destinations in Cary, North Carolina is the Umstead Hotel & Spa.  Its restaurant, Herons, is a five-diamond designated AAA establishment and Executive Chef Scott Crawford has been a three time semifinalist for a James Beard Award as best chef in the Southeast.   We have been fortunate to eat at Herons on two occasions. The first time was three years ago at a wine and barbecue pairing dinner.  I was fortunate to have the opportunity to talk with Chef Crawford and he was generous to the extreme by sending me some of his barbecue sauce recipes.  You can find them on my blog post about the event here.

Earlier this month our Son and DIL treated us to a Beer Pairing dinner there for our birthdays.  Chef Crawford joined up with Sean Lilly Wilson, Chief Executive Optimist and Founder of Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, NC.

I was amused by this picture of  Sean Wilson that appears on his website.  All I can say is that the above picture of him looks nothing like the guy in the three-piece suit that entertained us the evening of the dinner. That night he looked like the successful businessman that he is.   He is also a semifinalist for a James Beard award for Outstanding Wine, Spirtis or Beer Professional for 2013.  Sean has worked very hard for the beer industry in North Carolina.  He successfully lead the Pop the Cap campaign to change the State’s ABV cap from 6% to 15% alcohol content in 2005.  Raising the ABV cap has resulted in the proliferation of local micro breweries with a craft beer mentality.  In our area, Asheville has become a leader in the craft beer industry.  But the Raleigh Durham Triangle area is also going strong. What I appreciate about Fullsteam Brewery in Durham is Sean’s philosophy of plow-to-pint production.  He supports local agriculture by using barley, rye and other grains grown in North Carolina.  Some of his beers even use locally grown apples and sweet potatoes.  His enthusiasm is contagious and it was obvious that he and Chef Crawford had fun pairing his flavorful beers with the Chef’s delicious food.  Here is the menu.

 The first course was a passed appetizer on the patio.  It was Crab and Corn Fritters with Squash Butter and was served with Fullsteam’s El Toro Cream Ale.  I did not get a picture of the appetizer but it was so good that I am going to try to duplicate it.  The El Toro Ale is brewed with 100% NC barley and corn.  This straw-colored beer is unpretentious and very drinkable.  “A perfect beverage when you just want a beer.”  It was also perfect with the corn fritter.

The second course was Coal Roasted Gold Beets with citrus, smoked firewood honey and Almond Crunch.  It was paired with Hula Hoop Rye IPA.  Hula Hoop is a single hop rye brewed with NC rye, pungent apollo hops and crunchy granola.  Apollo hops are strong with notes of grapefruit, orange, pine, resin, spice and cannabis.  Do you see a pattern here?  The pairing was perfect.

The third course was Bacon Crusted Quail with Foie Gras, Hazelnuts, Date Butter and Pickled Pears, paired with  R&D Flanders Red Ale.   Quoting Sean here about this beer, “the  R&D Flanders Red Ale is a single batch of 10 gallons brewed on our home brew system.  Kevin, one of our brewers, brewed the beer last year and it had been aging for about 18 months.  It’s a sour ale with roeselare wild yeast and traditional beer ingredients; no curious Southern add ons.  The wild yeast lends a wonderful acidity that refreshes the palette, standing up well to that decadent foie gras.  A lighter beer would have gotten lost.  A hoppy beer would have overwhelmed the palette.  It was my favorite pairing of the evening.”  I have to agree with him.  Both the quail dish and the beer were brilliant.

The Main Course was Spice Roasted Venison Loin with Bourbon Buttered Sweet Potatoes, Caramelized Onions, Trumpet Mushrooms and Rosemary Madeira Jus.  This was paired with Fullsteam’s IGOR Imperial Stout.   IGOR has a big aroma of roasted grains with overtones of dark fruit and coffee.  It is aged in bourbon barrels for three months before being bottled.  The big flavors of the meat and sweet potatoes paired well with this strong stout. We would like to try using this beer in Jamie Oliver’s recipe for Beef, Guinness, and Cheese Pie  that I wrote a post about in 2011. It would be delicious.

Dessert from pastry chef Daniel Benjamin, was called Cheddar Apple Pie.  It consisted of a Cheddar Parfait, Warm Cider Caramel and an Apple Pop Tart.  The crumbled cheddar on top of the parfait added just the right note to the whole dessert.  It was not too sweet but totally complex in flavor.  The dessert was paired with Fullsteam’s The Common Good.  This beer is a combination of NC malted barley, corn grits and Pippen apples.  There were wonderful overtones of cider here.

The collaboration of Executive Chef Scott Crawford of Herons and Chief Executive Optimist of  Fullsteam Brewery, Sean Lilly Wilson, was meant to be.  They both embrace the philosophy of the farm to table movement and execute their passions to perfection  They should take this show on the road.   Thank you both for a wonderful evening.

Mexican Butternut Squash and Corn Saute

October 10th, 2013

The next time you have Taco night or Fajita night you might want to try this wonderful stove top saute of butternut squash, corn, peppers and fired roasted tomatoes as a side dish.  I came up with this recipe because I entered a contest over on the Food 52 website.  The contest is for your best side dish cooked on the stove top. They are giving away an Electrolux Stove to the winner.  I don’t  need a stove, but our kids do.  They are planning a kitchen remodel.  Kristen and I brainstormed ideas for good side dishes.  The inspiration for this one came from a dish that Kristen cooked while we were visiting last week.  She is still getting sweet corn in her CSA box and she made sauteed corn with bacon and avocado.  I decided to try combining cubed butternut squash and corn.  The additions of onion, green pepper, tomatoes and spices just seemed to fall into place.

I am pleased with the results.  You could even add more heat to it with jalapeno peppers or pepper flakes.  There are so many possibilities for interesting side dishes cooked on the stove top; risottos, pastas, beans.  It will be interesting to see which of the 240 entries comes out the winner.  I am curious to hear if any of you have a favorite stove top side.  Let me know if you do.

MEXICAN BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND CORN SAUTE

  • 2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
  • 1 Butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
  • 1 Medium onion, chopped
  • 1 Garlic clove, minced
  • 1 14 1/2 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1 Green pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch dice
  • 2 to 3 Ears of fresh corn, cut from the cob
  • 1/2 teaspoon each oregano and cumin
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add Squash, onion, and garlic; cover and cook, stirring once or twice, for 5 minutes.
  2. Add tomatoes and bell pepper. Cover; reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Add corn, salt, oregano, and cumin. Cover and simmer 5 minutes or until squash is tender. Increase heat to high, uncover, and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, 3 to 4 minutes.

Printable recipe

Boston Cream Pancakes

October 5th, 2013

As part of a nostalgia trip, I have decided to share some of my oldie but goodies posts.  I have been at this blogging business for many years and have even surprised myself with some of the recipes I have posted.  I need to make these delicious Boston Cream Pancakes again!  Enjoy.


Do any of you remember Long Johns?  No, not the underwear version.  I am talking about the doughnuts. When I was young, my Father would always go to the local bakery on Sunday mornings and come home with a bag of doughnuts.  There would be cinnamon twists, elephant ears, round jelly filled doughnuts and, my favorite, long johns.

Long Johns are a cake-like doughnut with a pastry cream filling and chocolate ganache smeared on top.  I adored them.  Recently I got a request from a family member who was going to be here for the Labor Day Weekend.  He asked if I would please, please make a recipe for Boston Cream Pancakes that he had seen online on the Country Cleaver website.  The pancakes are based on the Boston cream pie which was created by Armenian-French chef M. Sanzian at Boston’s Parker House Hotel in 1856.

I made them for breakfast one morning during the Labor Day weekend but never got a picture because they were devoured so quickly.  All I could think of when I ate them were those wonderful long johns that I had eaten as a child.  The fluffy pancakes, the smooth pastry cream and the decadent chocolate ganache all conspired to bring the flood of memories back.  I tucked the leftover ganache and pastry cream in the freezer because I knew that they would be making a repeat performance in my kitchen.

We had them for breakfast again on this beautiful Saturday morning, a day after my birthday. They were a welcome indulgence.  Sometimes you just have to eat like you are a kid again and stop worrying about calories, fat and sugar and how old you really are.  The pancakes themselves are an easy combination of yellow cake mix and Bisquick.  They are light and fluffy.  The pastry cream can be made way in advance and the chocolate ganache is easy.  I would recommend these pancakes to you for any special occasion, whether it be for a birthday or just because  it is a sunny day.  Indulge!

BOSTON CREAM PANCAKES (Country Cleaver Website)

ingredients:

Pancakes: Makes about 12 pancakes
1 cup Yellow Cake Mix
1 cup Dry Pancake Mix such as Bisquick
1 cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
2 whole Eggs

Pastry Cream:
1/3 cup Sugar
5 Egg Yolks
1 1/2 Tbsp Cornstarch
1 cup Milk
1 cup Half-n-Half
1 Vanilla Bean, split and seeds scraped (or 2 1/2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract)
1 Tbsp Butter

Chocolate Ganache:
8 oz. Chocolate
1 cup Heavy Cream

directions:

Directions:

Pastry Cream: Make up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerate until 1 hour prior to use.

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk, heavy cream and vanilla bean to a boil over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse for 10 to 15 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain. Temper the eggs by whisking in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk slowly.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool slightly. Press through a fine mesh strainer to remove any curdled bits and remove husk of vanilla bean. Cover strained pastry cream with plastic wrap, and press the plastic wrap on top of the pastry cream to make sure it doesn’t form a skin. Chill at least 2 hours or until ready to serve

Chocolate Ganache:

In small saucepan, heat heavy cream. Stir in chocolate and whisk until melted and the two are completely combined. Remove from heat and set aside.

Pancakes:

In large bowl, whisk together pancake mix and cake mix. Stir in milk, eggs and vanilla until the mixture is smooth. Heat a large griddle or large pan over medium high heat. Spray with non-stick cooking spray. Pour 1/3 cup of batter into pan or griddle and allow to cook until golden brown on the bottom, 2-3 minutes. Gingerly flip pancake over and continue to cook until the other side has turned golden brown – about 1 ½ minutes. Remove from griddle/pan and allow to cool.

To assemble – stack pancakes and layer with prepared pastry cream between each pancake. Pour chocolate ganache over the top and promptly devour.

Printable recipe

Cranberry-Walnut Pumpkin Bread

September 28th, 2013

The changing of the seasons seem to be speeding up in my life.  I want to hold each precious moment in the palm of my hand and grasp it greedily so as not to let it fly away.  I want to be here for my Granddaughter’s wedding someday.  I want to witness what my precocious Grandson becomes.  All of these thoughts intensify with the arrival of Fall.  There is an urgency to Fall.  Squirrels gather their acorns.  Farmers harvest their crops and gather hay.  Many of us can and freeze the bounty from our gardens.  Fall is the season for soups, pumpkins, stews and freshly baked bread.  Fall food is solace for the soul and gives us a reason to look forward to Spring and bright days ahead.

Few things smell as good as pumpkin and cinnamon baking in the oven.  One of my favorite pies is pumpkin.  But this pumpkin flavored quick bread has also become a favorite.  The recipe appeared in a 2003 issue of Bon Appetit magazine.  The article and recipe came from Ken Haedrich.  I have written about Ken before in this post.  By the way, I am still waiting for a guest post from you Ken.  He has a very informative website called The Pie Academy.

This is a dense and moist quick bread that is studded with cranberries and walnuts.  Eating a slice and sipping a cup of coffee while gazing at the changing colors across the lake is a celebration of all that is good about Fall.  The urgency and cold winds of Winter can wait.

CRANBERRY-WALNUT PUMPKIN BREAD

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pure pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a standard loaf pan.  Line bottom and 2 long sides with waxed paper.  Whisk flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl to blend.  Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy.  Gradually add 1 cup sugar, beating until blended.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  Beat in pumpkin, then vanilla.  Beat in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions each.  Fold in cranberries and nuts.  Transfer batter to pan.

Bake bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes.  Cool bread in pan on rack 15 minutes.  Cut around bread at short ends to loosen from pan.  Turn bread out onto rack; peel off waxed paper.  Cool bread completely.

Printable recipe

© Penny Klett, Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen. All rights reserved.